LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDD0SEDbEE4 







Class. 



Book_. 



TRAVELS 



THROUGH 



THE NORTHERN PARTS 

or THE 

UNITED STATES, 

IN 
THE YEAR 1807 AND 1808. 

BY EDWARD AUGUSTUS KENDALL, ESQ, 

IN THREE VOLUMES. 
VOLUME I. 

J\rEW.¥ORK. 
Printed and published by I, HWtij, 

1809. 







DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, ss. 

BE IT REMEMBP:REI), That on the twenty-seventh day ofOcto- 
ber, in the tliirty-louitli year of the Independence of the United 
States of America, Isaac Riley, of the s;ud district, hath deposit- 
ed in tliis office the title of a book, the ris^lit whereof he claims as 
proprietor, in the words and figures following, to wit : 

" i'raveis through the Northern ports of the United States, in the 
" years isor ar.d isos, by Edward Augustus Kendall, Esq. in three 
" volumes. Volume 1. 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United 
States, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by se- 
" curing tlie copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and 
" proprietors of s<ich copies, diringthe times therein mentioned ;" 
and also to an act, entitled, " An act, supplementary to an act, en- 
" titled, an act for the encouragement oflearning, by securing the 
" copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprie- 
" tors of such co])ies, during the times therein mentioned, and ex- 
" tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and 
" etching historical and other prints." 

CHARLES CLINTON, 

Clerk of the District of New -York. 



PREFACE. 

THAT part of the United States which com- 
prehends what are variously called the Northern 
States a7id Eastern States, andxvhich retains its 
ancient name of New England, is, in many par- 
ticulars, distinguishable from the remainder. It 
differs, not only in its climate, soil, natural pro- 
ductions and agriculture, but in the history of its 
colonization, in the objects of many of its insti- 
tutions, in its modes of thinking and manners of 
life, in its civil occupations, and, perhaps, in its 
political interests. 

It is exclusively to this part that what fol- 
lows has reference. In it are the seats of five 
republics, no longer dependent on Europe for po- 
pulation, but from which, on the contrary, emi- 
grants have proceeded, in nun,bers, to people 
and to cultivate the western limits of the empire, 

and to enrich themselves by the commerce of 
the southern. 

Travels, performed in the other parts of tl^c 

eountry, would present views of a hrger grasp 



iv PREFACE. 

than are to be expected from travels in this ; more 
extent and diversity of surface ; more variety of 
customs and manners ; more employment for the 
eye and for the imagination. They would embrace^ 
also, that portion of the soily to which those, who 
leave Europe, to find a new and permanent home 
in the United States, in almost all instances direct 
their course ; and, not only this, but they would 
embrace the metropolis, and consequently the scene 
171 which the composition and character of the 
general government can with most propriety be 
surveyed. At distant points, the foreign travel- 
ler has necessardy to fear, that the impressions 
which are made upon him, by local and provincial 
feelings and prejudices, may usurps in his nand, 
that place which should be given only to such as ' 
are universal. It is one thing to behold the 
hill from the plain, and another to behold the plain 
from the hilL 

Local subjects, however, are within the com- 
pass of local travels ; and to those, i?i chief 
proportion, tJiese pages are conjined ; or, where 
the subjects are general, it is their local bearings 
which are in question. If' the northern parts 
'of the United States cannot inspire that interest 



PREFACE. Y 

ivhich belongs to the souther?!^ they can inspire an 
interest which is their oum. Their natural 
and civil history^ their actual condition and their 
future prospects are their orv/i ; and there arc 
several aspects under which the acquaintance 
that we may make with them will reward the 
pains. The picture is beside more novel. 

The intention of travel is the discovery of 
truth ; but^ multiplied as are the occasions of 
error ^ its failures cannot but br frequent. Has- 
tily to adopt falsehood is a reproach to our under- 
standings and wilfully to propagate it is a re- 
proach to our hearts; but, the mistakes^ that 
amid our caution, we commit, are offences 
into which the best and wisest are betrayed, 
and which the wisest and best fnd it easy to 
forgive. 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 



CHAPTER I. p.ge 

Connecticut — Election-day, 1 

CHAPTER H. 
Connecticut'— Situation — Towns — Counties, 8 
CHAPTER HI. 
Connecticut — Government, 20 

CHAPTER IV. 
Connecticut — Legislature, 25 

CHAPTER V. 

Connecticut — Mode oj" Election, 27 

CHAPTER VI. 
Connecticut — Elective Franchise, 4,4t 



^'»i CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. p,g, 

Connecticut — Constitution of Government ^ 50 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Connecticut — Wethersjield — Middletoivn^ 8S 
CHAPTER IX. 
Connecticut — Iladdam — East Haddam, 97 
CHAPTER X. 
Connecticut — Societies and Churches, 106 
CHAPTER XI. 
Connecticut — Berlin, 117 

CHAPTER XII. 
Connecticut — Hartford, 129 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Connecticut — Hartford Poetry, 145 
CHAPTER XIV. 
Connecticut — Theatrical Prohibition. 164 



CONTENTS. j^ 

CHAPTER XV. p,^, 

Connecticut^General Assembly-^Courts of 

Justice, j^Qg 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Connecticut— Trial by Jurij, 132 

CHAPTER XVn. 

^Connecticut— Taxation, 18^ 

CHAPTER XVHI. 

Connecticut— Taxes and Public Ex- 

penditure, jo.-, 

CHAPTER XLX. 

Connecticut—Statistical and Historical 

JVotes, ^^^ 

CHAPTER XX, 

Connecticut^Windsor, 202 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Connecticut— Newgate Prison, 206 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XXII. p.,: 

Connecticut-^ Canton— Ccmaa^irr::^arth}'^,. 

Coku ' '')(.■ k — J\'hr/olA\ 21^ 



CHAPTER XX-HL 
Connecticut— Ccn a an — Sali&buryrrr-Sharon^ 2y . 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
Connecticut — Goshen — Litchfieldy ' 23 5 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Connecticut — Kent — InscriptionSy 241 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Conn ecticut — IFoodbridge — Newhaveny 247 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
Connecticut — Yale College j 258 

CHAPTER XXVHL 
Connecticut — i^chools, 265 



CONTENTS. xt 

CHAPTER XXIX. p«s* 

Comecticiit^-Jlncient Government of New ^ 

haveuy '^'^ 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Connecticut— Newhaven Blue-laws, 283 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Connecticut— New LojkIoji, 290 

CHAPTER XXXII, 

Connecticut—Montviile—Moheagan Lands— 
Nonvich— Lebanon, -300 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

■Connecticut— JVindham^milington, 314 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Connecticut-Stafford Spnngs^-Fomfret, 32i 



ERRATA. 



VOLUME 1. 



Page f,!. 4,>.one, r.«rfon. 
5,1. 19, q/?er- br, r. the. 
}*l '7f' ^'"^ ">>'• need, r. neeck. 
-•3-i, 1. 6, r/efe vhich. 
335, dele the first note. 
\m' \ 1''/"'' enforce, n expose, 
on.;' ■ i'J"]: constitution, V. institution. 

•'01, 1. 13, 21, for si.xty.nine, r. serenfy-eigiit 



VOLUJ^IE 11 

20, 1. 7, /«- falnis, r. fabrics, 
-.„ . '0, «y?er in, )-. the. 
*7,1. Il,/orhacl,r.have. 

7fi I In' ^^^'"''' ^- ^'■^' ''• °'' ^^'^ich. 
i?> 20, note, «/to- of, r. the 

in,' .'■ ^i' ^'^^"'''^ ™0'"e. ''• not. 
inc' ,'• ^^' '■^'^'' "^' d"^'' the. 

6' i'''f'•^V°'^^•'■•y°'^^• 
---, I. IS, f/ffe cut. 



VOLUME III 

5 1. 18, for democrats, r. democraie?. 

^o ■,n'/^'"■'«^t^'•'''^«'^in■ 
^u, 1. W,Jor wood, n road. 

^^^, I. 15, fl/^erof, r. the. 
1 lo' 1' J}:-^Z '" ^*^t'-''^t«' '■• h.V distress. 

1^7 ' 1 i' ^?'' ?cademy's, r. academic. 
ul' ;-i:''>'-""='-eased, r. exercised. 
iV- . / '•^°'' n«'3''ei-, r. near. 

in the table, fbr i'i'^ r "54 

|^f''-;f''t/^erdi;p;sed;r.'of. 

cHl, 1. 16, /«;. and a httrgh, r. of AUmfglt 



TRAVELS 



THROUGH 



PART OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Connecticut — Election - day. 

IN the spring of the year 1807, 1 visited those 
districts of the United States which lie east\\'aixl 
of Hudson's river, and which include the tenito- 
riesof five states ; Connecticut, Rliode-Island and . 
Massachusetts, New-Hampshire and Vermont. 

An object of immediate attraction was the 
great festival of Connecticut, called the Day of 
General Election, and populai'ly the Election - 
day, held annually in the city of Hartford, on 
the second Thursday in Ma}'. Having remained^ 
in New- York till the tenth of the same month, 
I proceeded, on commencing my journey, di- 

VOL. I. A 



2 TliAVELS THROUGH PART 

rect to Hartford. The distance, by land, is a 
little more than a hundred and twenty miles. 

The election-day is at present that one which, 
at the meeting of the general assembly, the 
written votes of the freemen, for a governor, 
lieutenant-governor, and other officers appointed 
to be chosen, are counted, the result declared, 
and the persons elected sworn to perform the 
duties of their respective offices. 

I reached Hartford at noon, on Wednesday 
the nineteenth of May. The city is on the 
west bank of the Connecticut, forty-five miles 
above its mouth. The governor, vv'hose family 
residence is on the east side of the river, at some 
distance from Hartford, was expected to arrive 
in the evening. This gentleman, whose name is 
Jonathan Trumbull, is the son of the late 
Governor Jonathan Trumbull ; and though 
the election is annual, he has himself been three 
or four years in office, and will almost certainl)^ 
so continue during the remainder of his life. It 
was knoMai that the votes were at this time in 
his favour. 

The governor has volunteer companies of 
guards, both horse and foot. In the afternoon, the 
horse were drawn up on the banks of the river, 
to receive him, and escort him to his lodgings. 
He came before sunset ; and the fineness of the 
evening, the beauty of the river, the respectable 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 3 

appearance of the governor and of the troop, the 
dignity of the occasion, and the decorum ob- 
served, united to gratify the spectator. The 
colour of the clothes of the troop was bkie. The 
governor, though on horseback, was dressed in 
black ; but he wore a cockade, in a hat which 
I did not like the less, because it was in its form 
rather of the old school than of the new. 

In the morning, the foot- guards were paraded 
in front of the state-house, where they after- 
ward remained under arms, while the troop of 
horse occupied the street which is on the south 
side of the l^uilding. The clothing of the foot 
was scarlet, with white waistcoats and panta- 
loons ; and their appearance and demeanour 
were militant 

The day was fine ; and the apartments and 
galleries of the state-house afforded an agreea- 
ble place of meeting, in which the members of 
the assembly and others a^vaited the coming 
of the governor. 

At about eleven o'clock, his excellency en- 
tered the state-house, and shortly after took his 
place at the head of a procession, which was 
made to a meeting-house or church, at some- 
thing less than half a mile distance. The pro- 
cession was on foot ; and was composed of the 
person of the governor, together with the lieu- 
tenant-governor, assistants, high-sheriffs, mem- 



4 IRAVELS THROUGH PART 

bers of the lower house of assembly, and, unless 
with accidental exceptions, all the clergy of the 
state. It was preceded by the foot-guards, and 
followed by the horse ; and attended by gazers, 
that considering the size and population of the 
city, may be said to have been numerous. 

The church, which from its situation, is called 
the South Meeting-house, is a small one, and 
was resorted to, on this occasion, only because 
that more ordinarily used was at the time 
rebuilding. The edifice is of wood, alike 
unornaraented, within and without ; and when 
filled, there was still presented to the eye no- 
thing but what had the plainest appearance. 
The military remained in the street, with the ex- 
ception of a few officers, to whom no place of ho- 
nour or distinction was assigned; neither the go- 
vernor nor other magistrates were accompanied 
with any insignia of office ; the clergy had no ca-. 
nonical costume ; and there were no females in 
the church, except a few (rather more than twenty 
in number) who were stationed by themselves, in 
a gallery, opposite the pulpit, in quality of sing- 
ers. A decent order w^as the highest chai-acteris- 
tic that presented itself. 

The pulpit, or, as it is here called, the desk, 
was filled by three, if not four clergymen ; a 
number which, by its form and dimensions, 
it was able to accommodate. Of these, one 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 

opened the service with a prayer ; another deli- 
vered a sennon ; a third made a concluding 
prayer, and a fourth pronounced a benediction. 
Several h}-mns were sung ; and, among others, 
an occasional one. The total number of sing- 
ers was between forty and fifty. 

The sermon, as Mill be supposed, touched 
upon matters of go\ ernment. When all was 
finished, the procession returned to the state- 
house. The clerg}^, who walked, were about a 
hundred in number. 

It was in the two l^odies of guards alone, that 
any suitable approach to magnificence disco- 
vered itself. The governor was full-dressed, in 
a suit of black ; but the lieutenant-goveiTior 
wore riding-boots. All, however, was consist- 
ently plain, and in unison with itself, except the 
dress-swords, which were worn by high- sheriffs, 
along Avith their village habiliments ; and of 
which the fashion and the materials were marvel- 
lously diversified. 

ArriA'cd in front of the state-house, the mili- 
tary formed on each side of the street ; and, as 
the governor passed them, presented arms. 
The several parts of the procession now sepa- 
rated ; each retiring to a dinner prepared for 
itself, at an adjoining inn ; the governor, lieu- 
tenant-governor, and assistants to their table ; 
the clergy to a second ; and the representatives 



g » TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

to a third. The time of day was about two in 
the afternoon. 

Only a short time elapsed, before business 
was resumed ; or, rather, at length commenced. 
The general assembly met in the council-room ; 
and the written votes being examined and 
counted, the names of the public officers elected 
were formally declared. They were in every in- 
stance the same as those which had been suc- 
cessful the preceding year, and for several years 
before. 

This done, the lieutenant-governor adminis- 
tered the oath to the governor-elect, who, being 
sworn, proceeded to administer their respective 
oaths to the lieutenant-governor and the rest ; 
and here terminated the affairs of the election- 
day. Soon after six o'clock, the militaiy fired 
three feux de joies, and were then dis- 
missed. 

On the evening following that of the election- 
day, there is an annual ball at Hartford, call- 
ed the Election Ball ; and on the succeeding 
Monday a second, which is more select. The 
election-day is a holiday throughout the state ; 
and even the whole remainder of the week is 
regarded in a similar light. Servants and others 
are now in some measure indemnified for the 
loss of the festivals of Christmas, Easter and 
Whitsuntide, which the principles of their church 



OF THE UNITED STATES. -7 

deny them. Families exchange \'isits, and treat 
their guests with shoes o{ election-cake ; and thus 
preserve some portion of the luxmies of the 
forgotten feast of the Epiphany. 

The whole day, like the morning, and like 
the evening \\^hich preceded it, was fine. In 
Haitford, the degree of bustle A^as sufficient to 
give an air of importance to the scene ; a scene, 
that taken altogether, was not unfitted to leave 
on the mind a pleasing and respectful impression. 

The following are the words of the occa- 
sional hymn, which, as I have said, was sung : 

HAIL happy land I hail happy state ! 
Whose freeborn sons in safety meet. 

To bless the Lord IVlost High ! 
With one consent, now let us raise 
The thankful tribute of our praise 

To Him who rules the sky ! 

The mercies he to us hath shown, 
The wonders he for us hath done, 

His sovereign hand proclaim ; 
Come, and with grateful hearts adore 
The God who saves us by his power, 

And bless aloud his name ! 

Come, let us kneel before his face, 
Devoutly supplicate his grace, 

And his high aid implore ; 
That He our nation, state, and land, 
May save by his Almighty Hand, 

Till time shall be no more ! 



CHAPTER II. 

Connecticut — Situation — Toivns — Counties. 

CONNECTICUT is a maritime country, ly- 
ing in the forty-second degree of north-latitude, 
along the margin of Long- Island Sound. In a di- 
rect line, it has coast of a hundred miles in length; 
but its actual sea-board is rendered much more 
considerable, by the incurvatures of small bays 
and inlets. On the east, it is bounded by the 
territory of Rhode- Island; on the west, by that 
of New- York ; and on the north, by that of Mas- 
sachusetts. From north to south, that is, from 
the frontier of Massachusetts to the coast, it is 
nowhere more than seventy-two miles in 
breadth, and for the most part much less. It is 
said to contain a surface of four thousand six 
hundred and seventy-four square miles, and a 
population of nearly two hundred and sixty thou- 
sand souls, or more than fifty souls to each 
square mile. 

The country is divided into almost two equal 
parts, by the river from which it derives both its 
name and a great part of its resources. This 
river rises in Lower Canada; and, after a course 

1 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 9 

of more than three hundred miles, of which the 
general direction is south, enters Connecticut at 
about seventy miles before it reaches the sea. 
It is navigable, for vessels of burden, only to 
Hartford. 

The exports of Connecticut are carried to the 
West India Islands either directly from her own 
ports, or by reshipment from Boston or New 
York. They consist chiefly in grain and other 
provisions, and in horses and live cattie. 

This territory is parcelled into counties, and 
the counties into towns. The towns are the 
most ancient and most important of these divi- 
sions. 

There is no statute or other public instrument, 
in Connecticut, providing for the establishment of 
torvns, defining the nature of their institution, or 
the materials of ^vhich they are composed. Their 
origin may therefore be said to be prescriptive. 
The very earliest laws are content with recogni- 
sing their existence, and granting, or securing, 
their immunities. 

Among their founders, the word town seems 
to have been synonymous Avith settlement. In 
Europe, we speak of settlements^ either in a 
more general sense than colonies, or as included 
within colonies. The French call them habita- 
tions. These terms agree entirely with the 

VOL I. B 



j^O TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

toxvns of New England. Every new settlement 
\v<xs called a new tow?i. In making a settle- 
ment, certain limits were assigned, or assumed ; 
and the limits of the settlement were said to be 
the limits of the torvn. The town-proper w^as 
of course the collection of dwellings ; but, in the 
vulgar acceptation, the same word embraced the 
entire district or township, and use has given 
a local sanction to this meaning. 

The w^ord totvn^ appears to be a coriTiption of 
the Saxon duno^ from which we obtain den^ dii?i, 
don, and down, and the French, dunes, hills, or 
heigJits. In all countries, whether in Europe or 
America, where petty nations have lived in the 
constant fear of enemies, their dwellings have been 
seated upon hills, as situations the best adapted for 
defence. Adding aitificial means of security 
to the means they thus borrowed from na- 
ture, they have surrounded those dwellings, ac- 
cording to their manner or their ability, with walls 
or with a stockade. But, whether fortified by 
nature, or by art, these places of dwelling were 
essentially places of strength — places that were 
fortified. Hence, a hill, and hence a town, was 
synonymous with a fortified place. Hence, a 
fortified place, wherever situated, was called a 
town. But, seas and rivers have in all ages invi- 
ted men to their respective banks and shores, in 
pursuit, either of daily subsistence, or of thr 



OF THE UNITED STATES. J^ 

wealth, to be derived from commerce. But the 
shores are often flat, and even marshy; and 
yet towns, that is, hills or strong places, have 
been built in such situations. It was incident to 
every collection of dwellings, to be fortified, to 
be made strong ; and therefore it was said to be 
a hill or foxvn. But the dwellings were fortified by 
being enclosed ; hence the Saxon twi ; and tun, 
from tinan, signifying shut or enclosed; and 
hence the primitive acceptation in English, a 
walled collection of houses. 

But, the consolidation of empires, and conse- 
quent progress of civilization, in Europe, has re- 
lieved many regions from the necessity of sur- 
rounding their collections of houses with walls. 
Walls have been razed from around manv 
collections of houses where they were former- 
ly necessary; and many such collections ha-se 
been built, where no such precaution has ever 
been resorted to. Still, those collections, which 
were formerly walled, have retained their for- 
mer appellations; and still those which are dis- 
tinguished by any other particular, formerly 
incident to towns, are so denominated. 

But, it was in an express manner incident to 
towns, that the collection of houses, of which 
they were composed, should be built within 
the smallest convenient compass. Hence, in 
towns, the buildings for the most yyxct joined 



12 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

each other ; and hence a collection of houses^ join- 
ings or nearly joining each other ^ is the first re- 
quisite in the definition of toivn^ though the 
word be taken in the loosest sense that is admis- 
sible in Europe. 

In New England, however, a towji is very 
commonly described as containing two or three 
villages; and these are frequently separated from 
each other by two or three lakes, and two or 
three tracts of forest. — Thus, we began with the 
primitive signification of the A^^ord, and have 
now reached what is probably at present the fur- 
thest remove. In Virginia, the settlers never 
,used this term ; or at least Sir Walter Raleigh 
avoids it, when he tells us, that " they had built 
" houses, planted gardens, erected townships., 
" and made provision for their posterity."* 

* By some, town is regarded as a contraction of town- 
shifi ; but I consider it as the orisi;inal term. For the rest, 
it is but by a few readers that I can hope to be pardoned 
this diijjression ; and such will not perhaps be displeased 
at seeing it extended a little further. 

Tonvnn that are incorporated are now called boroughs ; but 
towns were fortified at an earlier date than they were in- 
corporated, and fortification was more essential than incor- 
poration. Borough is certainly the same with berg^ burg^ 
and burghs and the ancient signification of these is a for- 
tified eminence : The burg and byrig of the Saxons is the 
same with the Tlv'^yo: or tower of the Greeks, and the 
bro and bar of the Celts. But, bro and bar are the same 



OF THE UNITED STATES. J3 

A toxvn^ then, in Connecticut, and the other 
parts of New England, is first a district, or geo- 
graphical subdivision, in which sense is the 

with baris, a Greek word, signifying a stone tower or 
citadel, whence baris and bii-a/i, among the Orientals, 
a royal citadel, castle, or palace ; and of baris, the primi- 
tive signification appears to be a mountain. 

A fortress which adjoined the temple in Jerusalem 
was called baris, or the citadel. This word is said, by a 
learned writer, to have been used by the Jews, only of a 
s(one toiver, or fortification ; but, the authority which 
he cites, affords a larger signification, and one in which 
there is a remarkable agreement of expression with 
what is said above, of the origin of the word toivn : BAPIS 
verbum XTri^aeiov Palestince, usque hodie domus ex omni 
parte conclusx, et inmodum adijicatx turrium,ac nixnium 
publicorum ^x^eii ajipellantur . Hieronym. Epist. Crit. 
DE NoM. Hebr. Baris is here used to imply, first, 
an enclosed or fortified residence, of which, in an- 
tiquity, the usual form was that of a tower ; and, second- 
ly, the walls of a fortified place. 

But, with the Greeks, the signification was still larger, 
and baris was taken, not only for a toAvcr or any great 
edifice, but also for a shili. That the same word which 
may be translated shifx, should primarily signify a mountain, 
may at a first view be little probable ; and the writer allu- 
ded to appears to consider a tower orfortijicaiion as the pri- 
mary sense of dan's, whence it would follow Xhvitbaris could 
signify a fortified emiyience, not because it is an eminence, 
but only because it x?, fortified ; and this admitted, he would 
derive baris a ship, from baris a stone tower, because the ark 
or ship of Noah rested on a mountain, and because there 



14 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

phrase, " the iiiliabitants of towns ;" secondly, it 
is a body poUtic and corporate. 

is, in Imaus, a mountain, called by Ptolemy, A*^ivo? nu'pyo;, 
the Stone Tower. Now, a stone tower is rendered by 6a- 
r/s, and the mountain on which the ark rested is called 
by Josephus, after Nicolas Damascenus, " Baris, near 
" Minyas, in Armenia." 

There is certainly here some show of evidence ; and 
yet I cannot but think it preferable to derive baris a 
ship, from baris a tower or castle ; this from baris a 
fortified eminence ; and baris a fortified eminence from 
baris a mountain. How familiarly, and with what pro- 
priety, ships are denominated castles^ need not to be 
pointed out. 

Of Mount Baris, in Armenia, the writer remarks, 
that, " no "geographer mentions such a mountain, in his 
" description of that country ;" and this circumstance 
he appears to consider as supporting his conjecture, that 
the ark actually rested on the mountain called by Ptole- 
my the Stone Tower, A/Stvoj riu'pyoj being a periphrasis or 
interpretation of Baptj. That a mountain came to be call- 
ed the Stone Tower, he supposes to have happened 
from its figure ; and in this we may entirely agree with 
him, without ceasing, however, to believe, that a stone 
tower was called baris, from baris a mountain ; that is, 
that baris, the noun proper, may have had its derivation 
from baris, the noun common. 

From the fact, that no geographer mentions Mount 
Baris, a conclusion, very different from that given above, 
may, with equal force of argument be deduced ; for we 
shall be guilty of no violence, if we suppose that the Ba- 
ris of Josephus, is a common and not a proper name or 
noun; a mountain, any mountain, or perhaps, a higli moun- 
tain ; and not a particular mountain, called, for whatev&r 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 

As to its geographical extent, a town usually 
comprehends thirty-six square miles ; but some 
towns are within these dhnensions, and many 
much exceed them. The boundaries are usually 
determined, or in the technical phrase, the 
lines run, by a land-surveyor. Natural boun- 
daries, such as small rivers, brooks or moun- 
tains, are rarely admitted. As population 
iQcreases in the towns, as interests sepai'ate, 
as feuds arise, or as intrigues are to be ma- 
naged, their territories experience frequent sub- 
divisions, under the authority of acts of the 
general assembly. Sometimes, one to\\Ti is se- 
vered into two ; and sometimes a new one is 
formed in the heart of several others, uniting in 

reason, the Stone Tower, " All accounts of the great de- 
" luge," says the writei-, " agree in this, that the ark or 
" ship landed on a high mountain ;" to which accounts, 
the authority, misunderstood by Josephus, or by Nicolas 
Damascenus, or by writers earlier than either, may only 
entitle us to add, that the high mountain (6aris) was 
situate " near Minyas, in Armenia." See Some Inquiries 
concerning the First Inhabitants, Language, Religion, 
Learning and Letters of Eurofie. Oxford, 1758, 

Further, and in confirmation of what has been advanced, 
as well in this note as in the text, may be noticed the ac- 
knowledged agreement in signification, of the Saxon duno 
with the Greek JWv*?. A«vo? is said to be from /3»ve$ ; and 
|8«y«5 appears to lead us to ^nfe^-, fixpi',, bar, bra, borough, 
istc. 



X5 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

itself parts of each. The present number of towns 
is one hundred and seventeen. 

The modem towns (I mean the incorpora- 
tions) may be said to be erected by the general 
assembly ; but the more ancient ones appear to 
have been erected by those who composed 
them. A part, at least, of their immunities on 
the Connecticut, were acknowledged in 1636, 
in the commission issued by Massachusetts, Xq 
which colony they were then subject ; and were 
declared, and perhaps extended, by statute, in 
1639. 

1. The. towns, in town-meeting, elect their own 
to^vn- officers, and may recover a fine on refusal 
to serve;*" but, " any one assistant, or justice," 
may set aside the election, at his discretion, on 
the appeal of the party elected, 

2. The towns have power to make such or- 
ders, rules and constitutions, as concern their 
own welfare, provided that these orders, rules 
or constitutions, are " not of a criminal, but 
" only of a prudential nature ;" that they be 
not repugnant to the laws and orders of the 
state ; and that no penalty, infticted for any one 
act of non-observance, exceed the sum of three 
doiiai's and thirty-four cents. 

* Of the amount of five dollars. 



OF THE UNITED STATES J 7 

3. Towns may make by-laws, for restraining 
horses, cattle, &:c. provided they impose no penal- 
ty exceeding the amount of tliree dollars ; and no 
such law is to be in force till it shall have been 
published for four weeks successively in the 
newspaper ^v^hich is printed in or nearest to the 

tOMll. 

4. Precincts or peculiars are in some cases 
ordered to be rated at or in certain towns, and 
in such cases are rated and governed by the 
town. 

5. Towns have authority to discriminate 
between the inhabitants that they will ad- 
mit, and the inhabitants that they A\'ill not. 
Hence, there is a distinction between set- 
tled, approved and lawful mhabitants, and the 
contrar}^ Those strangers whom they disap- 
prove they may xvarm to quit the toAMi, and 
in case of need, compel. The origin of this 
right will be more distinctly seen hereafter. 
Over the natural and lawful inhabitants they ex- 
ercise many powers. 

6. What may be considered as among the 
highest prerogatives of the to^v^ls, it is in their 
hands to grant and withhold the freedom of the 
state, even to and from natural-born subjects. 

7. But, it is chiefly on account of their share in 
the public councils that I have entered thus 
early into the political history of tlie toxvus. It 

VOL. I. C 



18 TRAVELS THROUGH PARI 

will be seen, that they could by no means 
be omitted in the preliminary view, which I 
have proposed to myself to take, of the govern- 
ment and the legislature, and of the elections. 

Each town is represented in the general as- 
sembly, by two or at least one representative. 
The old towns may in any case send two or one 
at their option ; but some of the new towns are 
restricted to one, unless in cases where their lists 
respectively " amount to sixty thousand dollars, 
" without fraud." 

" Justices of the peace," says a native lawyer, 
" are considered as the civil authority of the 
•' town in which they dwell, and have exten- 
" sive power in directing and advising about the 
*' management of the affairs of the town."* 
Another writer, combining with this account the 
circumstance that justices of the peace are ap- 
pointed by the general assembly, infers, that the 
extensive power, here described as invested, is an 
expedient for maintaining the general order of 
the state, t In the provisions of the statutes I 
cannot discern this power. The phrase civil 
authority is obviously loose and popular ; for 
the selectmen compose the real civil authority. 

* Swift's System of the Laws of the State of Connecti- 
cut, 1795. 

t A Specimen of Republican Institutions, Philadelphia, 
a 802. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^g 

In the statutes, it is found, along with many 
other loose and popular phrases, in the sense ol" 
justices of the peace ; but, the editors of the late 
edition have refused to it a place in their index. 
The justices of the peace, as lawful and even 
principal inhabitants, have unquestionably much 
power and influence ; and the statutes occa- 
sionally join them with the selectmen, in the 
exercise of magisterial duties. This appears to 
me to be the whole. 

II. It has been said above, that the counties are 
divided into towTis; but, there may be more pro- 
priety in the expression, that the towns are united 
into counties. The towns were in existence 
before the counties, of which latter the first es- 
tablishment was in the year 1665. After that 
period there were four, and there are now eight. 
This number was completed in 1785. 

The counties send no representatives to the 
assembly, but ai'e shires or circuits for the 
administration of justice; and can be repre- 
sented as communities only as they respective- 
ly possess a magistracy, competent, under certain 
limitations, to hear and determine pleas, civil, 
criminal and equitable; and also, for county-pur- 
poses, to levy county-taxes. Each county has 
a sheriff, with the fullest powers. 



CHAPTER IIL 

Connecticut — Government. 

THE government of Connecticut is a de- 
mocracy, of a peculiar form and structure. 

" The supreme power and authority of the 
" state," says the assembly itself, "' consists in the 
" general assembly." The general assembly is 
composed of two houses or chambers, of which 
the lower is filled by the representatives or depu- 
ties of the towns, and the upper by the governor, 
lieutenant-governor and assistants. 

The supreme power and authority is therefore 
in the hands of a council of two hundred; for 
of about this number of persons is the entire as- 
sembly composed. To each division, however, 
belongs, in some instances, peculiar functions; 
and of these a small proportion falls to the lot 
of tlie governor, 

1. The governor is by statute president of the 
upper house of assembly ; but he has no voice in 
its decisions, unless the votes happen to be 
equally divided. 

2. Upon fourteen days' warning or less, he 
may coni ene the general assembly at unusual 
times, and at unusual places, withm the state. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gl 

as he shall judge proper; but he can in no case 
prorogue or adjourn it against its consent. 

3. He may reprieve a condemned malefactor, 
till the next meeting of the general assembly; 
but he can grant no pardon. 

4. He is ex officio a justice of the peace 
throughout the state. 

5. He is captain- general and commander in 
chief of the militia of the state; but he com- 
missions only, and not appoints the inferior offi- 
cers. 

6. He is superintendant of marine; and all 
marine papers, under the authority of the state, 
issue in his name. 

7. From the year 1793, to the present, the go- 
vernor has had a further duty to perform, that of 
sitting, twice in each year, as president of the 
court of errors ; but, an act, passed in the last 
year, relieves him from this duty for the future. 

8. By and with the advice of the council, he 
may prohibit the carriage, by land or water, of 
any article or thing, out of the state. 

The lieutenant-governor is also lieutenant-ge- 
neral of the militia for the governor. He acts in 
his absence, and in his presence has a voice in the 
council, along with the assistants. 

H, Other powers are incident to the governor 
and council, in their joint capacity ; insomuch 
that this body may be regarded as a second branch 



22 TKAVELS THROUGH PART 

of government. It alone can authorise the reading 
of briefs; it appoints the quarter- master- general, 
and the eight high sheriifs. 

III. The council is composed of the governor, 
lieutenant-governor and assistants. The assist- 
ants are twelve in number, and their office is 
scarcely less considerable than that of the gover- 
nor. 

1. In conjunction with the governor and lieu- 
tenant-governor, they constitute one estate or 
l^ranch of the legislature, and can decide all le- 
gislative questions which come before them, 
even against the will, advice or consent of the 
governor. 

2. They ai'e ex officio justices of the peace 
throughout the state. 

3. Any three assistants may execute a power 
similar to that granted to the governor, of re- 
prieving a condemned malefactor till the next 
general assembly. 

4. An assistant may supply the place of an 
absent judge of the superior court. — At the first 
settlement of Connecticut, and for many years 
after, almost every magisterial duty was assign- 
ed indiscriminately to the assistants. By the 
older laws, an assistant was allowed the sin- 
gular privilege, of forbidding the entrance of 
more persons than he judged convenient, into 
tlie same ferrv-boat with himself. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 

IV. The fourth branch of government is the 
general assembly, from which, indeed, all other 
authority proceeds, and by which, at any mo- 
ment, it may be reclaimed. Nothing exists 
but at its pleasure. It makes laws, and it re- 
peals them; and in the laws is the sole founda- 
tion of the political fabric : the constitution of 
government is to be found only in the statutes. 
In a word, the general assembly is truly the sin- 
gle depository of power; of power at once go- 
vernmental, legislative and judiciary; at once 
civil, military and ecclesiastical. 

1. The general assembly is the sole legisla- 
tive authority. 

2. It grants levies. 

3. It disposes of lands undisposed of, to towns 
or to paiticular persons. 

4. It erects courts of justice, and appoints 
judges and other officers as it sees necessary. 

5. It censures, punishes and removes at its 
pleasure, all those officers and judges; and all 
magistrates whom it accuses of any misdemean- 
our or malversation. 

6. It acts in particular cases as a court of 
equity, staying the proceedings of courts of law, 
imd even exempting by particular acts paiticu- 
lar individuals from civil process; the right to 
do all which is, among others, reserved to it in 
the words, " and also may deal and act in arn^ 



24 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &t. 

" Other matter that concerns the good of this 
" state." 

7. It, and it only, has power to grant pardons, 
suspensions, and gaol-delivery upon reprieve, 
to any person or persons that have been senten- 
ced in any court of the state whatever. 

8. It cannot be dissolved, nor prorogued, but 
with the consent of a majority of its members. 

9. It imposes fines upon such of its members 
as reveal what it orders to be kept secret, " or 
" shall make known to any person what any one 
*' member of the court speaks concerning any 
" person or business that may come in agitation 
" in the court."* 

10. It is of minor importance that the mem- 
bers of the general assembly are privileged 
against arrest in civil suits, after the model of 
the privilege of parliament in England; and that 
a seat is vacated by a member's appearing at the 
bai' of the assembly, as an attorney, to conduct 
a suit at law, unless in behalf of the town which 
he represents, or in cases where either himself 
or his kindred are personally interested. 

* Thovigh this latter clause is made applicable to all 
the members of the general court, it is perhaps intend- 
ed only for the government of the upper house, of which 
the doors are always closed. From a note in the Statutes 
of Connecticut, it appears to have been enacted in 1639, 
and copied nearly verbatim, at the revision in 1702. 

1 



CHAPTER IV. 

Connecticut — Legislature. 

FROM what has appeared in the preceding 
chapter, the reader is prepared to behold the 
same object, the general assembly, again pre- 
sented to his view: " In which general assembly 
" shall consist the supreme power and authority 
*' of this state ; and they only shall have power to 
" make laws, and to repeal them." 

Every statute of Connecticut is described as 
being " enacted by the governor, council, and 
" house of representatives, in general court as- 
*' sembled;" but the words court and assembly 2iYt 
used indiiferently, and almost alternately, in the 
place of each other : thus where a marginal note 
promises a view of all the powers " of the gene- 
'■' ral assembly,'''' the text mentions only the gene- 
ral court. The origin of this confusion of terms 
will appear hereafter ; as also of the name of 
court of election, now apparently obsolete. The- 
language in which the legislative powers of the 
assembly are expressed, has scarcely been va- 
ried from the beginning: " In which general 
" court shall consist the supreme power and 

VOL I. n 



25 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, kc. 

authority of this state; and they only shall 
have power to make laws and repeal them; 
to grant levies ; to dispose of lands undis- 
posed of to towns or particular persons; 
and also to institute and style judicatories and 
officers, as they shall see necessary for the good 
government of this state. Also, to call any 
court or magistrate, or any other officer or 
person whatever, to an account for any misde- 
meanour or male administration; and for just 
cause may fine, displace or remove them ; 
or deal otherwise, as the nature of the cause 
shall require ; and also may deal and act in 
any other matter that concerns the good of 
this state, except the election of governor, 
lieutenant-governor, assistants or counsellors ; 
which shall be done by the votes of the free- 
men, at the yearly court of election." 



CHAPTEP V. 

Connecticut — Mode oj* Election. 

EVERY public trust and office in Connecti- 
cut is elective. Selectmen and others are elected 
by their towns ; schoolmasters and mistresses 
by the societies ; ministers of churches by the 
churches ; the inferior officers of militia by the 
privates, and the superior by the assembly ; the 
judges of all the courts by the assembly ; 
the electors of the president and vice-president 
of the United States by the same ; the lower 
house of assembly by the towTis separately ; and 
the 'upper, together A\ith the representati^'es of 
the state in congress, by the towns collectively. No 
civil office within the state is held for more than 
a year ; and the deputies of the towns are elected 
for only one session of the assembly. There 
are two sessions of the asseml3ly in each year ; 
and consequently as many elections of depu- 
ties. 

The deputies are now frequently denomina- 
ted representatives. They were anciently called 
committee-men ; each to\vn being said to send 
a committee or deputation to the legislature. 



28 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

At present, representative appears to be the 
term in favour ; while deputy holds in some 
degree its ground, through prior title. 

The deputies or representatives, for the ses- 
sion which is held in October, are chosen on the 
third Monday of September next preceding ; 
and those for the session in May, on the first 
Tuesday in April preceding. They are always 
chosen in town-meeting, " held at nine o'clock 
" in the morning, at some convenient place, 
" where the meetings have usually been held." 

Respecting the election of representatives in 
the assembly, the statutes afford few rules, ex- 
cept the foregoing, and that of the governor is 
surrounded with but few forms ; but the election 
of assistants, and of representatives in congress, 
has been the object of extraordinary legislative 
cai"e, and is conducted on a system in many 
respects remarkable. Amid that bitterness of 
party which prevails in Connecticut, this system, 
at least with one side, is a constant theme of 
exultation. The wisdom of the design, and the 
real blessings of which it is the parent, are in- 
sisted upon with equal warmth. 

That we may duly appreciate these preten- 
sions, it will be proper to examine them with 
care ; an examination, the pains of 'which we 
shall not regret, when we afterward listen to the 
loud encomiums thev excite. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 2^ 

1. The constables in the several towns are 
required to summon, or as it is said, to " waru 
all the freemen in their respective towns to 
meet together yearly, on the third Monday of 
September, at nine of the clock in the morn- 
ing, at some convenient place, where theilr 
meetings have usually been held, when and 
where they shall first choose deputies or re- 
presentatives to attend the general court in 
October, then next ensuing ; and then every 
freeman, in each town, there present, shall give 
in his vote or suffrage for twenty persons, 
their names being fairly written on a piece of 
paper, whom he judgeth qualified to stand hi 
nomination for election in the month of May 
next following : which votes or suffrages shall 
be delivered to an assistant, or justice of the 
peace, (if any be present,) otherwise to such 
constable as shall inhabit in the town where 
such votes are given in ; which assistant, jus- 
tice, or constable, shall make entrj^ of the 
names of all such persons as the freemen do 
vote for, with the number of votes that each 
person hath ; a copy whereof the said assist- 
ant, justice, or constable, in each town, shall 
send sealed up, to the general assembly in Oc- 
tober next following, by the deputy or repre 
sentativesof such town. 



3Q TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" At which assembly, all the votes of the free- 
" men of this state shall be compared, and those 
" twenty persons who shall have the greatest 
" number of votes shall be the persons whose 
" names shall be returned to the several towns 
" to be the persons nominated to stand for elec- 
" tion in May next following ; out of which 
" number the twelve assistants shall be chosen. 
" But, the freemen shall have liberty to choose 
" the governor and lieutenant-governor, where 
" they see cause, of all or any freemen within 
" this state." 

2. " The secretaiy of the state, for the time 
*' being, shall, with the acts and orders of the 
" general court in October, yearly, send a copy 
" of the names of all those persons who are no- 
" minated as albresaid, to stand for election as 
" aforesaid, to the printer, in order that the said 
" persons' names may, with the said acts, be dis- 
" tributed to the several towns in this state. 

3. " And the several constables in the respec- 
" tive towTis throughout this state, without fur- 
" ther order, on the penalty aforesaid, shall, by 
" themselves or some deputed by them, warn all 
" the freemen in their respective towns to con- 
" vene at the place where such meetings are 
" usually held, on the Monday next following 
" the first Tuesday in April annually, at nine of 
" the clock in the morning ; when and where 



OF THE TINni'ED STATES. 3^ 

" they shall first choose deputies to attend the 
" general court in May next following ; where 
" also shall be read to them the freemen*s oath, 
" the three last paragraphs of this act,* and the 
" names of those persons nominated to stand for 
" election : and then the freemen shall proceed 
" to bring in to the civil authority, (or if none 
" be present, to the constable or constables pre- 
" sent,) the name of him whom they would have 
" for governor for the year ensuing, fairly written 
" upon a piece of paper, which the said authori- 
" ty, or constable or constables, shall receive, 
" and in the presence of the freemen, seal up 
" the same in a piece of paper, and write on the 
" outside of the paper so sealed, the name of the 
" to\\ii, . and then add these words, viz. Votes 
" for the governor. In like manner they shall 
" proceed in bringing in, sealing up, and \M"i- 
" ting upon their ^'Otes for the lieutenant-go- 
" vemor, treasurer and secretar}'. But, before 
" the treasurer and secretaiy ai^e voted for, the 
" freemen shall bring in their votes for those 
*' nominated to stand for election, beginning 
" with him that stands first in the nomination, 

* These relate to bribery and imdue hifluence^ which 
latter crime is defined, by another statute, as consisting 
in the gratuitous distribtition of sfiirituoiis liquors. Title 
LV. Chap. iii. By /taragra/i/is is intended sections or 
clauses. 



32 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" and bring in their votes for him ; which, by 
" the said authority, or constable or constables, 
" shall be received, sealed up, and written upon 
" as aforesaid, inserting the name of the person 
" voted for ; and so they shall proceed till 
" they have passed tlirough the whole nomina- 
" tion. But, no one freeman shall vote for more 
" than twelve of the number in nomination to be 
" assistants. And the votes for election of as- 
" sistants shall be a written piece of paper ; and 
"■ no umvritten piece of paper shall be given in." 

4. The written votes or ballots, which, 
through a mistake or else abuse of terms, 
the statutes occasionally call proxies, are then 
sent to Hartford, in the care of one of the re- 
presentatives, who delivers them to the secretary 
of state. The secretary" of state transfers them 
to the committee of the general assembly, by 
which they are appointed to be counted.* 

5. There is a fifth particular, dependent rather 
on usage than on law, for an exposition of which 
we must apply to a private pen. It appears, 
that at the general assembly in October, where 
a list is made of twenty persons to stand in no- 
mination, special regard is had to the manner of 
framing the list : "In arranging the twenty 

* See Statutes of Connecticut, Hartford, 1808. Ti- 
tle' LV. 

1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 

' names, those persons who have previously be- 
' longed to the council are placed according to 
' their official age, without any regard to the 

* number of votes which each individual may 

* have ; the others, who have never been mem- 
' bers of the council, are placed according to 
' the number of their votes. The nomination, 
' thus made out, is forwarded to the various 
' towns. At the freemen's meeting in April, 
' after the choice of representatives to the legis- 
' lature, and after the %'otes ai*e given in for the 
' governor, the presiding magistrate calls for 
' the votes for the assistants. The mode is, 
' first, to call upon the freem.en for their votes 
' for the first man in the nomination, and then to 
' take them in their order. Each freeman has 
' a right to vote for twelve out of the twenty. 

* The mode of voting almost certainly secures 
' the election of the first tw^elve."* — Of these in- 

stitutions there are wann admirers. " The mode 
' of appointing the goveiTior, and lieutenant- 
' governor, by annual suffrage, has already," 

says one of these, '' been mentioned. In this 

*An Oration delivered at Newhaven, on the 7th of 
July, A. D. 1801, before the Society of the Cincinnati 
for the State of Connecticut, assembled to celebrate the 
Anniversary of American Independence. By Theodore 
Dwight. Hartford, 1801. 

VOL. T. K 



34- TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" there is nothing which promises the requisite 
" portion of legislative stability. 

" Such stability, therefore, must be an object 
*' of high consequence, as it respects the twelve 
*' members called assistants. Yet these are all 
" elected annua Ily^ by general suffrage. This, if 
" viewed superficially, may seem so irrecon- 
" cilable with senatorial stability, as to excite a 
" momentaiy dovibt respecting the peculiar 
" steadiness which has been said to distinguish 
" the state. At the same time, the existence oi" 
" such steadiness is a historical fact, established 
" by unquestionable testimony. What then is 
'' the true solution of this political paradox ? 

" According to known principles of human 
" action^ the fact of peculiar steadiness may be 
" pronounced impossible, unless there be some 
" peculiarity in the electing of these twelve 
" members of the senatorial coimcil. It is Avith 
" reference to this that we are informed, ' The 
" ' mode is calculated to prevent any change b}- 
" ' the influence of sudden whim or caprice.* 
" What mode, however, can assure this result 
" amidst annual elections ? In the process there 
" are several things to be observed. 

" The first is a legal ?zow7?72«^?ow of candidates. 
" At the electoral meetings, annually holden in 
'' September, each of the enrolled electors may 
^ ' give his suffrage for txventif persons., whom 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 

*' ' he judgeth qualified to stand in nomination 
" ' for election.' The presiding authority, in 
'' each town, makes ' entry of the names of the 
" ' persons voted for, with the number of votes ;' 
" and is to send an authentic statement of them, 
" ' sealed up, to the general assembl}^ in Octo- 
" ' ber next following.' The respective votes 
" are then to be examined ; and ' the twenty 
" ' persons who have the greatest number of 
" ' votes, shall be the persons in nomination.' 
'' Under the direction of the general assembly, 
" the names are seasonably made known, in 
*' proper form, to the vaiious to\\ ns thi'oughout 
" the state. And it is from this list of candi- 
" dates that the choice is ultimately to be 
" made. 

" Such a procedure, doubtless, tends to con- 
*' centrate opinions as to the proper objects of 
" suffrage. In giving range, too, for the selec- 
" tion of character, it favours the principle of 
" inviting, into the senatorial council, such per- 
" sons as are distinguished by the solidity of 
" moral qualities. 

" It is equally obvious, that each of the per- 
" sons who may be elected, must have been cUi 
" object of public attention for a considerable 
*' period. This is important, as having a ten- 
" dency to exclude intriguers from the senatorial 
" dignity. 



35 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" You observe how this part of the system is 
" adapted for introducing none but men of dis- 
" tinguished worth into the senatorial body; yet, 
" we must agree, it does not appear adequate to 
" assure another object of no inconsiderable con- 
" sequence, the firmness of political situation. 
" For this, the means are to be sought in other 
" political forms. 

" The ultimate choice is completed in the 
" spring of each year, by electing twelve persons 
" out of the twenty who have been nominated 
" as candidates, in the preceding autumn. At 
" the electoral meetings, in April, the name of 
" each of the twenty candidates is separately 
" proposed for suffrage ; and thereupon an elector 
" is at his option, either to give his suffrage in 
" favour of the candidate, by delivering any 
" written paper, or to refuse such suffrage, and 
" yet, perhaps, conceal the refusal, by delivering 
" a paper in blank. 

" In this proceeding it is the legal course to 
" * begin with the person who stands first in the 
" ' nomination,' and then pursue the order in 
" which the names are placed on the list, and 
" so proceed through the whole. 

" The presiding authority, upon receiving 
" them, takes care to inclose the votes for each 
*' candidate in a distinct cover, under seal, on 
'' which is written the name of the person voted 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



37 



" for. The respective votes given in each 
" town, for the several candidates, being thus 
" inclosed and placed under seal, ai-e to be 
" transmitted to the general assembly, holden 
" in May, there to be opened and examined. 
" ' The twelve persons who shall have the 
" ' greatest number of votes, shall be declared 
" ' to be elected assistants for the ensuing year.' 

" In this election of twelve persons from 
" among twenty candidates, the probability is, 
" that a plurality^ of votes would usually be 
*' given for the twelve whose names are first 
" proposed. This is to be expected, whenever 
'* the electors have no particular causes for pre- 
" ference or rejection. 

" But will all that we have now remarked be 
*' sufficient to assure the proper degree of sena- 
" torial stability ? According to the idea just 
" intimated, the result of the process is con- 
" nected ^vith the order in which the names of 
" the t\venty candidates are placed on the list. 
" Upon what principle ai'e these names ar- 
" ranged ? 

" No written law is found for determining 
"•' this point. It seems not improbable that sen- 

* By filurality the writer means nothing more tliun 
nutjority^ but applies this term to the 7najoritij at the 
second election. 



38 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

timents of civility would, in this instance as in 
otliers, favour the principle of giving prece- 
dence according to official seniority : And this 
order of precedence, after being adopted from 
such sentiments, might be regarded as having 
the authority of governmental usage. Various 
examples of important usages, which are in- 
troduced by the regard to particular circum- 
stances, may be traced in the history of the 
English government. Might not a corres- 
pondent regard to circumstances operate in 
modifying the government of one of the late 
English colonies ? 

" If political usage, in the case before us, has 
regulated the order of precedence according to 
official seniority, this consideration v/ill assist 
us in the solution of the pai'adox which has 
been stated. And that such usage has been in 
fact adopted as a fixed rule, you may fairly 
conclude, from the language of a Avriter who 
speaks as a person experimentally acquainted 
with the subject. — ' The practice of placing 
' those who are assistants the first on the list, 
' according to seniority of office, though others 
' may have a greater number of votes, is a 
' great security of their re-election.' 
" This practice, as it thus appears from au- 
" thentic evidence, is the established usage of 



OF THE UNITED STATES, 39 

the legislative assembly. Of course, it is a 
species of parliamentary law. 
" Being therefore .unquestionably certain, it 
is to be regarded as the key-stone of the 
arch — essential to the stability of the whole 
fabric. 

" Notwithstanding all this security for politi- 
cal firmness, when the number of small elee- 
toratesy and the frequency of their elections, 
are considered, the opinion impresses itself, 
that other causes must have had an auxiliar)' 
agency in maintaining the peculiar steadiness 
for which the state has been characterized. 
Under this impression, it would seem that the 
mass of other institutions and usages must 
ha\'e tended to produce an habitual conviction 
of the importance of stability in aifairs, an at- 
tachment to order, and a coiTCspondent abhor- 
rence of confusion. 

" How fai' this is the fact, will be for subse- 
quent inquir}-. At present, if we attend to 
the particular subject before us, the mode of 
electing the members of the senatorial coun- 
cil is observable for its originality and utility. 
In relation to this single body of men, the 
process is adapted to unite two objects which 
ha\e been deemed incompatible — the control 

' of frequent elections, and the stability of a 

' permanent senate. 



40 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" To secure the possession of their places, 
amidst annual elections, the members of this 
body must consult the public good : when- 
ever, in consequence of misconduct, they be- 
come ' generally unpopular, they will infallibly 
' be dismissed from office.* 
" Yet the aggregate process is such that it has 
an ' effect to render permanent the seats of 
' those who conduct W6"//,* by guarding them 
' against the schemes of parties.' Their places, 
therefore, are practically holden during good 
behaviour. 

" To determine respecting the merits or de- 
merits of their conduct, there is no parade of 
impeachment. The determination is made 
by the electoral body, which sits in judgment, 
twice in every year, upon each of the mem- 
bers. If the conduct of any one of them has 
been such as to deserve exclusion from office, 
the public opinion, in deciding against him, 
exerts the censorial power of expelling from 

' the senate. 
" What senatorial body was ever constituted 

' upon principles more congenial to liberty, to 

'- order, and to virtue V'*-\ 
Views similar to those of this writer have also 

^cen held out by an earlier advocate : "It has 

' This is a corrupt idiom in general use in Connecticut. 
t Specimen of Pvepviblican Institutions, p. 30, 

o 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 45^ 

*' been often considered," says he, " as a defect in 
" the policy of Connecticut, that there are so 
" frequent elections. The house of representa- 
" tives is chosen half-yearly. The inconve- 
" nience of two freemen's meetings in a year, is 
" abundantly compensated by the advantages 
*' derived from it, in the choice of the council. 

" The advantages of this mode of election 
*' are numerous. It brings into one view the 
" sense of the freemen, relative to those men 
" who are best qualified, in their opinion, to fill 
" the important office of counsellor. Each free- 
" man being at liberty to vote for those twenty 
" persons whom he prefers, the choice is free 
" and unbiassed. But, as it could not be sup- 
" posed that any twenty persons would obtain a 
*' majority of all the votes, it was ordained that 
" the twenty highest should be chosen. This, 
*' as it has been seen, is advancing but half way 
*' towards the office. At the next election the 
*' candidate must obtain a plurality of votes, 
" otherwise he is not chosen. Perhaps a double 
" plurality may be deemed equivalent to a single 
*' majority. It has some manifest advantages 
*' over it. In the fii'st place, there is always a 
" certainty of an election. Where tliere is but 
" a single election, and of course a majority is 
" required, there will usually be some vacancies. 
"•' This will cause a new election by the people, 

VOL. T. F 



42 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" or they must be filled by the legislature. The 
" first is expensive and troublesome, and gene- 
" rally attended with party- spirit, electioneering, 
" and corrupt practices ; the latter is substitu- 
" ting a mode of election not conformable to the 
" true spirit of elective governments. Secondly, 
" no man can start from obscurity into this 
" branch of the legislature. 

" If a vicious or unworthy character, by any 
" accidental circumstance, obtains a place in the 
" nomination, six months must elapse before 
" the second election takes place. During that 
" period the freemen will certainly discover his 
" true character, and the nomination \vill almost 
" as certainly limit his progress. Thus we pro- 
" babl}^ have the true reason why demagogues 
" neyev succeed in Connecticut. Where their 
" object is accomplished by a single election, 
" they will often succeed. But the nomination 
" ahvays warns the people of the approaching 
" danger, and the evil seasonably is prevented."* 

1. Examining the subject for ourselves, the 
first thing aimed at, as we shall perceive, is to 
oblige the candidate to undergo a second trial, or 
tv.'o-fold election, before his success is admitted. 

2. The second, is to secure time for counteract- 
ing any sudden or temporary partiality in the 

*Dwight's Oration, Sec. p. 36,37. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



43 



body of the people, such as may be displeasinsj 
to those of influence, and perhaps of virtue. 

3. The third, is to secure the return of those 
already in power : " the mode of voting almost 
'* certainly secures the election." 

4. The end, is the solution of the problem, 
how stability may be communicated to a de- 
mocracy. It is " hence has arisen," says the 
Avriter whom I last quoted, " the stability of 
*' this branch of our government. Although the 
*' election is perfectly democratic, that is, made 
*' by the people of the state at large, yet a coun- 
" sellor scarcely ever fails of a re-election, un- 
" less he publicly declines it. Since the year 
" 1783, there has been but one instance of a 
" counsellor being left out by the freemen, un- 
" less for the reason which I have mentioned." 

Credit is undoubtedly due to this scheme or 
system for its ingenuit}-, and its practical effects 
in Connecticut may be completely beneficial ; but 
I venture to express an opinion, that it is undis- 
tinguished by any feature of that wisdom which 
is contended for, and that it is altogether unfit for 
imitation. In Connecticut, its effect is to keep in 
power the paity which has from the first possess- 
ed it. That paity, from the accuracy of the prin- 
ciples upon which it acts, or from the virtues of 
those who espouse it, may be the proper deposito- 
ry of power ; but, were it not so, the effect Vv'ould 



44. TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

be the same . In either of the more populous states, 
or in the United States at large, such a system 
would place every thing at the mercy of intrigue, 
of calumny and violence : it would perpetuate the 
dominion of the present or any future prevailing 
party. In England, it would enable any admi- 
nistration to maintain itself forever, in equal defi- 
ance of the crown and of the people. Every 
where, it must secure the continuance of power 
to the original holder. Not indeed to the indi- 
vidual, because an individual may become ob- 
noxious to his party ; but, what is more danger- 
ous, it must secure it to the party itself. In practi- 
cal politics, we are not to listen to such language 
as that contained in the concluding paragraphs of 
the writer whose detailed apology we have read. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Connecticut — Elective Franchise. 

" NO person qualijied by law is prohibited 
" from voting."* 

The elective franchise is very singularly cir- 
cumstanced. It accompanies the franchise or 

* American Universal Geography, Sec. By Jedidiah 
Morse, D. D. Boston, 1802. Art. Connecticut. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



45 



freedom of the state ; but this freedom is not a 
birthright, but a gift ; and a gift which may be 
taken away. As to civil rights, the natives of 
the soil are not only divisible into freemen and 
slaves ; but into slaves, freemen and non-free- 
men : by birth, a man is no where even a law- 
ful inhabitant ! A writer, who has presented a 
systematic view of the constitutions of govern- 
ment of the United States, as well that of the 
federal government, as of the several states 
themselves,* has represented the elective fran^ 
chise as residing in the people of Connecticut, 
though the statute-book, with reason, always 
places it in the freemen. In another publi- 
cation on this subject, we are informed, that 
" in every town, each inhabitant who has the re- 
" quisite qualifications of age, estate, and mo- 
" rality^ may be publicly admitted to the electo- 
" ral franchise^ under the sanction of officers 
" authorised to superintend the transaction."! 

Every towii is capable of granting the freedom of 
the state. To obtain it, a man must be an hihabi- 
tant of full age, competent estate, peaceable betia- 
vioiir and civil conversatmi,2Lnd moreovtr certified 
to be so, by certain officers of the town. These 

* William Smith, Esq. 
t Republican Institutions.. 



46 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



officers give or withhold this certificate at their 
discretion : " All such inhabitants in this state," 
says the statute, " as have accomplished the age 
" of twenty-one years, and have the possession 
" of freehold estate to the value of seven dollars 
" per annum, or one hundi'ed and thirty-four dol- 
" lars personal estate in the general list of estates 
" in that year wherein they desire to be admitted 
" freemen ; or are possessed of estates as afore- 
" said, and by law excused from putting it into 
" the list ; and also are persons of a quiet and 
" peaceable behaviour, and civil conversation, 
*' may, if they desire it, on their procuring" 
a majority of the civil authority and selectmen 
to certify in WTiting that they are qualified " as 
*' above said, be admitted and made free of this 
" state ^ in case they take the oath provided by 
" law for freemen ; which oath any one assistant 
" or justice of the peace is hereby empowered 
" to administer in 5azV/ freemen's meeting." 

The duty of certifying was formerly confided 
to the selectmen only ; and they were liable to 
punishment by fine, if they granted certificates to 
unqualified persons. The fine on each certifi- 
cate at one time amounted to five pounds cur- 
rency, but latterly only to eleven dollars. To 
refuse a certificate to a qualified person appeal's 
never to have been punishable. At present, it 
stands enacted, " That no person hereafter be 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 47 

" admitted and made free of this state, until he 
" has procured a majority of the civil authority 
" Lind selectmen of the town wherein such per- 
" son iiiliabits, to certify in wTiting, that the said 
" person or persons are qualified agreeably to the 
" provisions of the" former act ; and " That it 
" shall be the duty of the ci\'y authority and se- 
" lectmen of each to^^^l in this state, on every 
" freemen's -meeting day, to meet at the place 
" appointed for said meeting, and previous to 
" said meeting being opened, and not afterwards, 
" shall receive and carefully examine all applica- 
" tions for admission to the privileges of free- 
" men, and having so received, examined and 
" approved, shall certify the same in writing, 
" which certificate shall be sufficient evidence of 
" the qualification of such person or persons, 
*' and shall entitle him or them to the freemen's 
" oath." 

That the franchise of the state conveys the 
elective franchise, is to be learned from the colo- 
nial charter of King Charles the Second, an in- 
strument which is still the constitution of go- 
^eiTiment ; and from the statutes which regulate 
the mode of election. The words of the charter 
are these : v 

" And further, we will, and by these presents 
'' for us, our heirs and successors, do ordain and 
" grant, that the goAcrnor of the said company 



48 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" for the time being, or in his absence by occa- 
" sion of sickness, or otherwise by his leave or 
" permission, the deputy- governor for the time 
" being, shall and may, from time to time, upon 
" all occasions, give order for the assembling of 
" the said company, and calling them together to 
" consult and advise of the business and affairs 
" of the said company ; and that forever hereafter, 
" twice in every year, that is to say, on every 
" second Thursday in October, and on everj- 
" second Thursday in May, or oftener, in cast 
" it shall be requisite, the assistants and freemen 
" of the said company, or such of them (not ex- 
" ceeding two persons from each place, town or 
" city) who shall be from time to time thereunto 
" elected or deputed by the major part of the free - 
" men of the respective towns ^ cities and places , 
" for which they shall be elected or deputed, 
" shall have a general meeting or assembly, 
" then and there to consult and advise in and 
" about the affairs and business of the said com- 
" pany." 

The towns enfranchise, but not disfranchise. 
This latter belongs to the highest court of ju- 
dicature, called the superior court. It is pro- 
vided, " That if any freeman of this state 
" shall walk scandalously, or commit any scan- 
" dalous offence, it shall be in the po\ver of the 
" superior court in this state, on complaint there- 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES 49 

** of to them made, to disfranchise such free- 
" man ; who shall stand disfranchised, till by 
" his good behaviour the said superior court 
" shall see cause to restore him to his franchise- 
" ment or freedom again ; which the said comt 
" is empowered to do." 

Our curiosity is now raised, as to the provi- 
sions and the history of the constitution of go- 
vernment ; and, by the inquiry to which I pro- 
pose to devote the succeeding chapter, not only 
these questions will be answered, but much light 
will Idc throwii upon all the existmg institutions 
of Comiecticut. 

Besides the general causes of disfranchise- 
ment, it is provided, that in case of defamation 
of *' any court of justice, or the sentence or 
*' proceedings of the same ; or any of the ma- 
" gistrates, judges or justices of any court, in 
" respect of any act or sentence therein passed," 
in any of these cases, " the court before whom 
" the trial is had" may disfranchise ;* and that 
any person, convicted, a second time, of giving 
or receiving any thing in the nature of a bribe in 
any election, shall be disfranchised, f 

* Statutes of Connecticut, Title XIV. chap. 1. sec. 3. 
t Ibid. Title Elccdon. 

VOL I. G 



CHAPTER VIL 

Conjiecticut — Constitution of Government. 

THE constitution of government is contain- 
ed, as already observed, in the colonial charter, 
of which the grant was in the year 1662, In 
1784, it was enacted by the general assem- 
bly, " That the ancient form of civil govern- 
" ment, contained in the charter from Charles 
" the Second, king of England, and adopted 
" by the people of this state, shall be and re- 
" main the civil constitution of this state, un- 
" der the sole authority of the people thereof, 
" independent of any king or prince whatever."* 
What follows comprises so much of the charter 
as respects the constitution of government ; 
and the preamble will materially explain the 
origin and basis of the establishment. 

" CHARLES the Second, by the grace of 
" God, king of England, Scotland, France and 

* There is here an example, I believe solitary in the 
Statutes, of the use of the word people^ as a body pos- 
sessed of civil rights. Free inhabitants soon follows. 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &e. 5] 

" Ireland, defender of the faith, Sec. To all 
whom these presents shall come, Greeting. 
Whereas by the several navigations, dis- 
coveries and successful plantations of divers 
of our loving subjects of this our realm of 
England, several lands, islands, places, colonies 
and plantations have been obtained and settled 
in that part of the continent of America called 
New England, and thereby the trade and com- 
merce there hath been, of late yeai's, much in- 
creased ; and whereas we have been inform- 
ed by the humble petition of our trusty and 
well beloved John Winthrop, John Mason, 
Samuel Wyllys, Heniy Clarke, Matthew AU 
lyn, John Tapping, Nathan Gold, Richard 
Treat, Richard Lord, Henry Wolcott, John 
Talcott, Daniel Clarke, John Ogden, Thomas 
Wells, Obadiah Bruen, John Clarke, Anthony 
Hawkins, John Deming and Matthew Cam- 
field, being persons principally interested in 
our colony or plantation of Connecticut in 
New England, that the same colony, or the 
greatest part thereof, was purchased and ob- 
tained for great and valuable considerations, 
and some other part thereof gained by con- 
quest, and with much difficulty, and at the onh^ 
endeavours, expense and charges of them and 
their associates, and those under whom the}' 

'' claim, subdued, improved, and therebv be- 



52 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" come a considerable enlai-gement and addr- 
" tion of our dominions and interest there. 
" A^ow know ye, That in consideration there- 
" of, and in regard the said colony is remote 
" from other the English plantations in the 
" places aforesaid, and to the end the affairs and 
" business which shall from time to time hap- 
" pen or arise concerning the same, may be 
" duly ordered and managed, we liave thought 
" fit, and at the humble petition of the persons 
" aforesaid, and are graciously pleased to create 
" and make them a body politic and coi'porate, 
" with the powers and privileges herein after 
" mentioned ; and accordingly our will and 
" pleasure is, and of our especial grace, certain 
" knowledge and mere motion, we have ordain- 
" ed, constituted and declared, and by these 
" presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do 
" ordain, constitute and declare, that they the said 
" John Winthrop, &c. and all such others as now 
" are, or hereafter shall be admitted and made 
" free of the company tmd society of our colony 
" of Connecticut in America, shall from time to 
" time, and forever hereafter, be one body cor- ' 
" porate and politic, in fact and name, by the 
" name of governor and company of the En- 
" glish colony of Connecticut in New England, 
" in America ; and that by the same name, they 
" and their successors shall and may have per- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 

" petual succession, and shall and may be per- 
" sons able and capable in the law, to plead and 
" be impleaded, to answer and to be answered 
" unto, to defend and be defended in all and sin- 
" gular suits, causes, quarrels, matters, actions 
" and things, of what kind or nature soever ; 
" and also to have, take, possess, acquire and 
" purchase lands, tenements or hereditaments, 
" or any goods, or chattels, and the same to 
" lease, grant, demise, alien, bargain, sell and 
" dispose of, as other our liege people of this 
" our realm of England, or any other corpora- 
" tion or body politic within the same may law- 
" fully do. And further^ That the said governor 
" and company, and their successors, shall and 
" may forever hereafter have a common seal, to 
" serve and use for all causes, matters, things and 
" affairs whatsoever, of them and their succes- 
" sors, and the same seal to alter, change, 
" break and make new from time to time, at 
" their ^vills and pleasures, as they shall think 
" fit. And further, we will and ordain, and by 
" these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, 
" do declare and appoint. That for the better or- 
" dering and managing of the affairs and busi- 
" ness of the said company and their succes- 
'* sors, there shall be one governor, one deputy- 
" go^ emor, and twelve assistiuits, to be from 



54 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

time to time constituted, elected and chosen, 
out of the freemen of the said company for 
the time being, in such manner and form as 
hereafter in these presents is expressed, which 
said officers . shall apply themselves to take 
care for the best disposing and ordering of the 
general business and aftairs of and concerning 
the land and hereditaments herein after men- 
tioned to be granted, and the plantation there- 
of, and the government of the people thereof : 
and for the better execution of our royal plea- 
sure herein, we do for us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, assign, name, constitute and appoint 
the aforesaid John Winthrop to be the first 
and present governor of the said company, 
and the said John Mason to be the deputy- 
governor, and the said Samuel Wyllys, &c. to 
be the twelve present assistants of the said com- 
pany, to continue in the said several offices re- 
spectively, until the second Thursday, which 
shall be in the month of October now next 
coming. And further, we will, and by these 
presents for us, our heirs and successors, do or- 
dain and grant, That the governor of the said 
company for the time being, or in his absence 
by occasion of sickness, or otherwise by his 
leave or permission, the deputy -governor for 
the time beino:, shall and mav from time to 
time upon all occasions, give order for the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 

" assembling of the said company, and calling 

" them together to consult and advise of tlie 

" business and affairs of the said company, and 

" that forever hereafter, twice in eveiy year, 

" that is to say, on every second Thursday in 

" October, and on every second Thursday in 

" May, or oftener in case it shall be requisite, 

" the assistants and freemen of the said compa- 

" ny, or such of them (not exceeding two per- 

" sons from each place, town or city) who shall 

" be from time to time thereunto elected or de- 

" puted by the major part of the freemen of the 

" respective towns, cities and places for which 

" they shall be elected or deputed, shall have a 

" general meeting or assembly, then and there 

" to consult and advise in and about the affairs 

" and business of the said company : and that 

" the governor, or in his absence the deputy - 

" governor of the said company for the time 

*' being, and such of the assistants and freemen 

" of the said company as shall be so elected or 

" deputed, and be present at such meeting or 

" assembly, or the greatest number of them, 

" whereof the governor or deputy-governor, and 

" six of the assistants, at least to be seven, shall 

" be called the general assembly, and shall have 

" full power and authority to alter and change 

" their days and times of meeting, or general 

" assemblies, for el^ctmg the governor, deputy^ 



56 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

governor, assistants, or other officers, or any- 
other courts, assemblies or meetings, and to 
choose, nominate and appoint such and so 
many other persons as they shall think fit, and 
shall be willing to accept the same, to be free 
of the said company, and body politic, and 
them into the same to admit ; and to elect 
and constitute such officers as they shall think 
fit and requisite for the ordering, managing 
and disposing of the affairs of the said go- 
vernor and company and their successors. 
A)id we do hereby for us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, establish and ordain. That once in 
a year for ever hereafter, namely, the said se- 
cond Thursday of May, the governor, deputy- 
governor and assistants of the said company, 
and other officers of the said company, or such 
of them as the said general assembly shall 
think fit, shall be, in the said general court and 
assembly, to be held from that day or time, 
newly chosen for the year ensuing, by such 
greater pai't of the said company for the time 
being, then and there present ; and if the go- 
vernor, deputy -governor and assistants, by 
these presents appointed, or such as hereafter 
be newly chosen into their rooms, or any of 
them, or any other the officers to be appointed 
for tlie said company shall die, or be removed 
from his or their several offices or places be- 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 5';^, 

" fore the said general day of election, whom we 
" do hereby declare for any misdemeanour or de- 
" fault, to be removable by the governor, assist- 
" ants and company, or such greater part of 
" them in any of the said public courts to be as- 
" sembled, as is aforesaid, that then and in every 
" such case, it shall and may be lawful to and 
" for the governor, deputy- governor, and assist- 
" ants and company aforesaid, or such greater 
" part of them so to be assembled, as is afore- 
" said, in any of their assemblies, to proceed to 
"a new election of one or more of their com- 
" pany, in the room or place, rooms or places, 
" of such governor, deputy-governor, assistant 
" or other officer or officers so dvina; or remo- 
" ved, according to their discretions ; and imme- 
" diately upon and after such election or elec- 
" tions made of such governor, deputy-gover- 
" nor, assistant or assistants, or any other officer 
" of the said company, in manner and form 
" aforesaid, the authority, office and power be- 
" fore given to the former governor, deputy- 
" governor, or other officer and officers so remo- 
" ved, in ^vhose stead and place new shall be 
" sent, shall as to him and tliem, and every cf 
" them respectively cease and determine." 

Here follow some incidentiil ordinances, af- 
ter which is a clause, of which the follow- 
ing portion is necessary to our view : " And 

VOL. I. H 



58 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" we do further, of our special grace, cer- 
" tain knowledge and mere motion, give and 
" grant unto the said governor and compa- 
" ny of the English colony of Connecticut, in 
" New England in America, and their succes- 
" sors, thai it shall and may be lawful to and for 
" the governor, or deputy-governor and such of 
" the assistants of the said company for the time 
" being as shall be assembled in any of the ge- 
" neral courts aforesaid, or in any courts to be 
" especially summoned or assembled for that 
" purpose, or the greater part oi them, whereof 
" the governor, or deputy -governor, and six of 
" the assistants to be always seven, to erect and 
" make such judicatories, for the hearing and 
" determining of ail actions, causes, matters and 
" things happening within the said colony or 
" plantation, and which shall be in dispute, and 
" depending there, as they shall think lit and 
" convenient ; and also from time to time to 
" make, ordain and establish all manner of 
" Avholesome and reasonable laws, statutes, or- 
" dinances, directions and instructions, not con- 
" trary to the laws of this realm of England, as 
" well for settling the forms and ceremonies of 
" government, and magistracy, fit and necessary 
" for the said plantation, and the inhabitants 
" there, as for naming and styling all sorts of 
" officers, both superior and inferior, which they 



OF IHE UNITED STATES. 59 

*' shall find needful for the government and plan- 
" tation of the said colony, and the distinguish- 
" ing and setting forth of the several duticis, 
" powers and limits of every such office and 
" place, and the forms of such oaths not being 
" contrary to the laws and statutes of this our 
" realm of England, to be administered for the 
" execution of the said several offices and pla- 
" ces, as also for the disposing and ordering of 
" the election of such of the said officers as are 
" to be annually chosen, and of such others as 
" shall succeed in case of death or removal, and 
" administering the said oath to the new electee! 
-' officers." 

What remains to be extracted is a clause 
of importance : " Our will and pleasure," 
says the royal founder, "Our will and pleasure 
" is, and we do for us, our heirs and successors, 
" ordain, declare and grant unto the said go- 
" vemor and company, and their successors, 
" that all, and eveiy the subjects of us, our 
" heirs, or successors, which shall go to inhabit 
" within the said colony, and eveiy of then- chil- 
" dren, which shall happen to be born there, or 
" on the seas in going thither, or returning from 
'' thence, shall have and enjoy all liberties and 
" immunities of free and natural subjects with- 
'' in any of the dominions of us, our heirs or 
'' successors, to all intents, constructions and 



60 TRAVELS THKOUGH PART 

" purposes whatsoever, as if they and every of 
" them were born within the reahii of England." 
The clause then goes on to provide for the 
administration of the oath of supremacy and 
obedience. 

1. From the foregoing we discover, that sub- 
ject always to the dominion of the crown, the 
soil of the colony was acquired by private ad- 
venture. The facts adverted to in the pream- 
ble are such as were stated in the petition. 

2. We learn further, that the adventurers were 
created a body politic and corporate, by the 
name of the Company and Society of the Colony 
of Connecticut ; and that the incorporation was 
extended to the adventurers and their associates, 
and all such as then were, or thereafter should 
be, admitted and made free of the company. 

4. That the company still subsists in the per- 
son of the state. 

5. That the company, and therefore the state, 
was and is invested with the right of " choosing, 
" nominating and appointing such and so many 
" other persons as they sliall think fit, and shall 
" be willing to accept the same, to be free of the 
" said company and body politic, and them into 
" the same to admit ;" and, in conformity with 
this basis, we find the general court or assem- 
bly decliuing, in 1665, " That it is their full 



OF THE UNITED S I'Al'ES. 



61 



"■ sense and determination, that suchpefsons as 
" are, or hereafter shall be, approved to be 
''^freemen of this corporation^ shall take the 
" oath that is already established upon record 
" to be administered to the respective freemen : 
" And further, that all such as shall refuse to 
" take the said oath, though otherwise approved 
" persons, shall not partake of the privileges of 
" those that have been formally incorporated 
" into this civil society.'''' 

6. That every person bom in Connecticut, 
is bom to the inheritance of Magna Chaita. 

But, a further enlai'gement of our view, of 
the institutions of Connecticut, is to be obtained 
from the perusal of an instrument more ancient 
than the charter ; namely, a constitution of go- 
vernment, formed by the colonists themselves, in 
the year 1639. This constitution, of which the 
existence was superseded by the chcuter, was com- 
prised in eleven articles, of which the ten follovr- 
ing beai' upon the structure of the government : 

"1. IT is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That there shall be yearly two general asscni- 
" blies or courts, the one on the second Thur^,- 
" day of April, the other the second Thursday 
" of September following : the first shall be 
" called the court of electio7i, wherein shall be 
" yearly chosen, from time to time, so many 



62 



IKAVELS TMROUGH TARr 



" magistrates and other public officers as shall 
" be found requisite, whereof one to be chosen 
" governor for the year ensuing, and until ano- 
" ther be chosen, and no other magistrate to be 
*' chosen for more than one year ; provided al- 
" ways there be six chosen besides the gover- 
" nor, which being chosen and sworn, according 
"to an oath recorded for that purpose, shall 
" have power to administer justice according to 
" the laws here established, and for want there- 
" of according to the rule of the Word of God : 
" which choice shall be made by ail that are 
" admitted freemen, and have taken the oath of 
" fidelity, and do cohabit within this jurisdic- 
" tion, having been admitted inhabitants by the 
" major part of the to^vii where they live, or the 
" major part of such as shall be then present. 

"2. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That the election of the aforesaid magistrates 
" shall be on this manner : every person present 
" and qualified for choice shall bring in (to the 
" persons deputed to receive them) one single 
" paper, with the name of him wiitten on it 
" whom he desires to have governor; and he 
*' that hath the gieatest number of papers shall 
" be governor for that yeai\ And the rest of 
" tlie magistrates or public officers to be chosen 
*' in this manner : the secretaiy for the time be- 
" ing shall first read the names of all that are to 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 

be put to choice, and then shall severally no- 
minate them distinctly ; and every one, that 
would have the person nominated to be cho- 
sen, shall bring in one single paper, written 
upon ; and he that would not have him chosen 
shall bring in a blank ; and every one that has 
more Awitten papers than blanks shall be a 
magistrate for that year ; which papers shall be 
received and told by one or more that shall be 
then chosen by the court, and SAVorn to be 
faithful therein : but, in case there should not 
be six persons as aforesaid, besides the go- 
vernor, out of those which are nominated, then 
he or thcA^, which have the most written papers, 
shall be a magistrate or magistrates, for the 
ensuing year, to make up the aforesaid num- 
ber. 

"3. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
That the secretaiy shall not nominate any per- 
son new, nor shall any person be chosen newly 
into the magistracy, which was not propounded 
in some general court before, to be nominated 
the next election : and to that end it shall be 
lawful for each of the towns aforesaid, by their 
deputies, to nominate any two whom they con- 
ceive fit to be put to election, and the court 
may add so many more as they judge requi- 
site. 



g4, TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" 4. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That no person be chosen governor above 
" once in two years, and that the governor be 
" always a member of some approved congre- 
" gation, and formerly of the magistracy within 
" this jurisdiction, and all the magistrates free- 
" men of this commonwealth ; and that no ma- 
" gistrate or other public officer shall execute any 
" part of his or their office before they are several- 
" ly sworn, which shall be done in the face of the 
" court if they be present, and in case of absence 
" by some deputed for that purpose. 

"5. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That to the aforesaid court of election, the se- 
" veral towns shall send their deputies, and when 
" the elections are ended they may proceed in 
" any public service, as at other courts : also, the 
" other general court, in September, shall be for 
" making of laws, and any other public occa- 
" sion which concerns the good of the comraon- 
" wealth. 

" 6. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That the governor shall, either by himself or by 
" die secretary, send out summonses to the con- 
" stables of every town, for the calling of those 
" two standing courts, one month at least before 
" their several times ; and also, if the governor 
^' and the greatest part of the magistrates see 
'' cause, upon any special occasion, to call a ge- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 

*■' neral court, they may give order to the secre- 
" tary so to do within fourteen days warning, 
" and if urgent necessity so require, upon a 
" shorter notice, giving sufficient grounds for it 
*' to the deputies when they meet, or else be 
" questioned for the same. And if the gover- 
" nor, or major part of the magisti^ates, shall 
*' either neglect cr refuse to call the two general 
" standing courts, or either of them, as also at 
" other times when the occasions of the com- 
" monwealth require, the freemen thereof, or 
" the major part of them shall petition to them 
" so to do ; if then it be either denied or neg- 
" lected, the said freemen, or the major part of 
*' them, shall ha\'e poAver to give order to the con- 
" stables of the several towns to do the same, and 
" so may meet together and choose to themselves 
" a moderator, and may proceed to do any act of 
*' power which any other general courts may. 

" 7. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
'^' That after there are warrants given out for any 
" of the said general courts, the constable or 
" constables of each town shall forthwith give 
" notice distincth^ to the inhabitants of the same, 
'' in some public assembly, or by going or send- 
'' ing from house to house, that at a place and 
" time by him or them limited and set, they 
" meet and assemble themselves together, to 
'' elect and choose ceitain deputies to be at the 

VOL. I. r 



(3(3 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" general court then following, to agitate the 
" aiFairs of the commonweLilth, which said de- 
" puties shall be choicn by all that are admitted 
" inhabitants in the several towns, and have taken 
" the oath of fidelity ; provided, that none be 
" chosen a deputy for any general court which 
'' is not a freeman of this commonwealth. The 
" aforesaid deputy shall be chosen in manner 
" following : ever\' person that is present and 
" qualified, as before expressed, shall bring the 
" names of such, written on several papers, as 
" they desire to have chosen, for that employ- 
" ment ; and those tliree or four, more or less^ 
" being the number agreed onto be chosen, for 
" that time, that have the greatest number of 
" papers written for them, shall be deputies for 
" that court ; ^vhose names shall be indorsed on 
" the back side of the warrant, and returned 
" into the court with the constable or constables 
" hand unto the same. 

"8. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield 
" shall have power, each town, to send four of 
" their freemen as their deputies, to every ge- 
" neral court; and whatsoever other towns shall 
" be hereafter added to this jurisdiction, they 
" shall send so many deputies as the court shall 
" judge meet ; a reasonable proportion to the 
" number of freemen that are in said towns, be- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 

'' ing to be attended therein ; M4iich deputies 
" shall have the power of the whole town, to 
" give their votes and allowance to all such 
" laws and orders as may be for the public 
" good, and unto which the said towns are to 
'' be bound. 

" 9. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
" That the deputies, thus chosen, shall have 
" power and liberty to appoint a time and a place 
" of meeting together, before an}^ general court, 
" to advise and consult of all such things as 
" may concern the good of the public ; and also 
" to examine their own elections, whether ac- 
" cording to the order ; and if they or the 
*' greatest part of them find any election to be 
" illegal, they may seclude such for the present 
" from their meeting, and return the same and 
" their reasons to the court ; and if it prove 
" true, the court may fine the party or parties so 
" intruding upon the town, if they see cause, 
" and give out a warrant to go to a new election 
" in a legal way, either in part or in whole ; also 
" the said deputies shall have power to fine any 
*' that shall be disorderly at their meeting, or for 
" not coming in due time or place, according to 
" appointment ; and they may return said fine 
" into the court, if it be refused to be paid, and 
" the treasurer to take notice of it, and to estreat 
" or levy the same as he doth other fines. 



gg TRAVELS THROUGH PARI 

" 10. It is ordered, sentenced and decreed, 
That every general court (except such as, 
through neglect of the governor and the great- 
est part of the magistrates, the freemen them- 
selves do call) shall consist of the governor, or 
some one chosen to moderate the court, and 
four other magistrates at least, with the major 
pait of the deputies of the several towns, legal- 
ly chosen; and in case the freemen, or the 
major part of them, through neglect or refu- 
sal of the governor and major part of the ma- 
gistrates, shall call a court, that shall consist of 
the major part of the freemen that arc present, 
or their deputies, with a moderator chosen by 
tliem : in which said general court shall consist 
tlie supreme power of the commonwealth, and 
they only shall have power to make laws or re- 
peal them, to grant levies, to admit freemen, to 
dispose of lands undisposed of to several towns 
or persons, and also shall have power to call 
other courts, or magistrate, or any other per- 
son whatsoever, into question for any misde- 
meanour ; cuid may for just causes displace or 
deal otherwise, according to the nature of the 
offence ; and also may deal in any other matter 
that concerns the good of this commonwealth, 
except election of magistrates, which shall be 
done by the whole body of freemen ; in which 
court the governor or moderator shall have 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gg 

" power to order the court, to give liberty of 
" speech, and silence unreasonable or disorderly 
" speaking, to put all things to vote, and in case 
" the vote be equal, to have a casting voice : but 
" none of these courts shall be adjourned or dis- 
" solved without the consent of the major part of 
" the court." — The eleventh article regulates the 
division of the public burdens.* 



On this constitution, a modern historian has 
passed a high eulogium : " With such wis- 
dom did our venerable ancestors provide for 
the freedom and liberties of themselves and 
their posterity ! Thus happily did they guard 
against every encroach.ment on the rights of 
the subject ! This, probably, is one of the 
most free and happy constitutions of civil go- 
vernment which has e^ er been formed ! The 
formation of it, at so early a period, when the 
light of libert}^ was AvhoUy darkened in most 
parts of the earth, and the rights of men were 
so little understood in others, does great 
honour to their ability, integrity and love to 
mankind. To posterity indeed, it exhibited 
a most benevolent regard ! It has continued, 
Avith little alteration, to the present time. The 
happy consequences of it, which, for more 

* History of Connecticut, Appendix, No. III. 



70 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



" than a century and half, the people of Con- 
" necticut have experienced, are without de- 
" scription !"* 

Whether or not this praise is entirely merited, I 
shall not examine. The constitution, considering 
the circumstances under which it was formed, (for, 
in 1639, Connecticut consisted only in the three 
settlements named in the instrument, and pos- 
sessed a population of only eight hundred colo- 
nists,) is perhaps unexceptionable ; but there is 
surely some degree of error, in describing it as ex- 
isting to the present time ^vith little alteration ; 
that is, as essentially adopted and perpetuated in 
the royal charter. I pass over the bold and ori- 
ginal scheme of constitutional revolution^ detail- 
ed in the fifth article, and wholly omitted in the 
charter, and dwell only on what relates to the 
elective franchise, the topic, the illustration of 
which I have more especially in view ; and which, 
imder a government wholly or in part elective, 
is of all others the most important to the sub- 
ject. 

It is observed, by the industrious and merito- 
rious editors of the Statutes of Connecticut, that 
" The elective franchise has been restricted, in 
*' some degree, from the first establishment of 
" the government. The constitution," thev 

* Ibid. Book I. Ch. VI. page 97. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. -jr^ 

add, "adopted by ' the inhabitants and residents 
" ' of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield,' 
" on the 14th of Januar}% 1639, provided, that 
" the choice of civil officers should be made by 
" all that were admitted freemen, and had taken 
" the oath of fidelity, and cohabited within this 
" jurisdiction, having been admitted inhabitants 
" by the major part of the town wherein they live, 
" or the major part of such as were then pre- 
" sent." 

This citation is correct ; but it appears to have 
escaped, as well the editors of the Statutes, as the 
author of the Complete History, that we have here 
but a part of what is to be found in the constitu- 
tion of 1639, in regard to the elective franchise. 

The historian goes so far as to tell us, that un- 
der this constitution, " the constables of the 
" respective towns were obliged to warn all the 
"■freemen to elect and send their deputies ;" but, 
upon a recurrence to the seventh cUticle, it will 
instantly be seen, that as to the election of 
deputies, there was vested no exclusive fran- 
chise in the freemen. The deputies must be 
freemen, but the electors might be only admitted 
inhabitants. Instead of warn ail the freemen, the 
words are these — give notice distinctly to the in- 
habitants. As to the civil or public officers, they 
\vere to be elected by the freemen. The first 
alteration, therefore, that presents itself, is the re- 



-2 1UA\ ELS THROUGH PART 

cluction, effected by the charter, of two classes of 
electors into one ; or the exckision of the non- 
freemen from the elective franchise. We are to 
attribute this reduction to the charter ; for though 
the provisions of an act of 1659, in regard to the 
making of freemen^ are cited by the editors of 
the statutes, immediately after those of the con- 
stitution, there is in reality nothing shown to con- 
nect these new provisions Vv^ith the question of 
the elective franchise. They relate entirely to the 
making of freemen ; but it appears, that by the 
constitution, the franchise was not exclusively in 
the freemen ; and no shadow of evidence is of- 
fered, that the investiture of the franchise was in 
any degree modified, between the date of the con- 
stitution and tliat of the charter. It is in the char- 
ter, that for the first time, v/e find the franchisr 
limited to the freemen. 

According to the historian, the constitution 
provided, that " all persons who had been re- 
" ceived as members of the several towns, by a 
" majority of the inhabitants, and had taken the 
" oath of fidelity to the commonwealth, should 
" be admitted freemen of the colony ;" but we 
look in vain for this provision, in the instrument 
ilseif. The existence of such a provision would 
liave identified tlie admitted inhabitants with the 
admitted freemen, a measure obviously not con- 
temi^lated by the constitution ; and, from what 
1 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 73 

follows, it will appear, that the limitation of the 
franchise to freemen, was, in its operation, a much 
more serious restriction, than at a cursory view 
we should imagine. 

By the se\ enth article of the constitution, the 
franchise was allo^ved to every man, on two 
conditions only ; that he was an admitted inhabi- 
tant^ and that he had taken the oath ofjidelity. 

A little reflection will convince us, that with 
respect to that posterit}^, to which, as we have 
seen it observ^ed, this constitution exhibited so 
benevolent a regard, these two conditions would 
have reduced themselves into a single one, 
namely, that of taking the oath ofjidelity. To 
understand the true signification of the phrase 
admitted inhabitants^ and that temporary opera- 
tion which alone it could constitutionally have 
claimed, we must consider the situation of Con- 
necticut, in the year 1639. 

The first adsenturers had arrived only in 1635 
or 1634. They consisted of adults and children, 
none of whom were natives of the soil. They 
commenced their settlements in virtue of purchase 
and permission of the Indians. They formed 
new communities, in which none liad any rights 
except themselves. All was theirs. It was theirs 
to sell or to refuse to sell their lands to such 
under-purchasers as they thought jit ^ and on such 

VOL. T. K 



j^ TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

tenns as they thought ft. They were free to 
exclude all new adventurers, if they thought Jit, 
and to admit them in all respects as they thought 
fit. He, therefore, whom they admitted to be 
an inhabitant, became an admitted inhabitant ; 
and he, whom they admitted to the freedom, be- 
came a freeman. Time, however, ought to 
have produced a new state of things. Children 
were bom of these admitted inhabitants ; they 
were natives of the soil ; and it is preposterous, 
in rcgiU'd of them, to talk of admitted and unad- 
mitted inhabitants, lawful and unlawful : their 
birth gave them admission, and made their habi- 
tation la\\^ul. These children, therefore, this 
posterity, must have inherited, under the con- 
stitution of 1639, the elective franchise, as it re- 
spected the deputies, on the single condition of 
taking the oath of fidelity. They were not born 
freemen of the towns ; but non-freemen were 
thus privileged. 

Under what restrictions, or upon what condi- 
tions, new adventurers, at the date of the consti- 
tution, were admitted to be freemen, we are in 
reality uninformed ; but, in 1662, this admis- 
sion was guaided by several restiictions.* 

* The editors of the Statutes, in their note, at page 
356, assert, that the qualities of an orderly, peaceable 
and good conversation, had never been dispensed with 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



75 



'"' In March, 1659, an act of the general court 
" provided, that none should be presented to be 
" made freemen, or have the privilege of freemen 
*' conferred upon them, until they had fulfilled 
" the age of twenty-one years, and had 30/. of 
" proper personal estate, or had borne office in the 
" commonwealth; and such persons, so qualified, 
" and being men of an honest and peaceable con- 
" versation, should be presented, in an orderly 
" wa} , to the general court, in October, yearly, 
" to prevent tumult and trouble at the court of 
" election." 

We see, therefore, that to confine the elective 
franchise to the freemen, as was done by the 
charter, was to superadd, to the single restriction 
that affected the generation that had grown up 
under the constitution, the several restrictions 
that were thus laid upon the admission to freedom; 
and what is much more, it was wholly to take 
away the franchise, as a right of birth. 

It was in 1662, that the finishing stroke was 
put to the restrictions on the grant of the elective 
franchise ; for it was then made necessary, not 
only to be qualified, but to obtain a certificate of 
qualification, before \hc freedom of the corpora- 

This is highly probable ; but it does not appear that they 
Hve entitled to say more. They produce no provision 
of the kind, of a date earlier than 1659. 



Yg TRAVELS THROUGH PAKT 

tion could be demanded : "In October, 1662, 
" that act [the act of 1659] was superseded by 
" the following : ' This assembly doth order, 
" ' that, for the future, such as desire to be 
" ' admitted freemen of this corporation shall 
" ' present themselves, with a certificate under 
" ' the liands of the major part of the townsmen 
" ' [selectmen] where they live, that they are 
" ' persons of a civil, peaceable, and honest con- 
" ' versation, and that they have attained the age 
" ' of twenty-one years, and have 20/. estate, 
" ' besides their person, in the list of estates : 
" ' And that every person so qualified to the 
" ' court's approbation, shall be presented at 
" ' October court, yearly, or some adjourned 
" ' court, and admitted, after the election, at the 
" ' assembly in May.' " 

When we consider, that in so far as regards 
the election of deputies, tlie elective franchise, 
under the constitution of 1639, was vested in the 
non-freemen equally with the freemen, to be en- 
joyed of right, and subject to no man's plea- 
sure, on the single condition, as to natives of 
the soil, of the oath of fidelity ; and when we 
contrast this provision w4th the effect of that 
which confines the franchise to freemen, we 
must allow that that constitution can scarcely be 
said to have continued to the present day, with 
little alteration. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



77 



As to the loss of the elective franchise, a cir- 
cumstance which places the liberties of the sub- 
ject in another and very important light, it is obser- 
vable, that the change in the constitution has pro- 
duced no change in this. Disfranchisement was 
held forth, as a criminal punishment, so early as 
1646. It was again enacted in 1662 ; and, 
after various revisions, it is found among the 
existing statutes : " In April, 1646, it was en- 
" acted, that if any person, within the liberties, 
" had been, or should be, fined or whipped for 
" any sca,ndalous oft'ence, he should not be ad- 
" mitted, after such time, to have any vote hi 
" town, or commonwealth, until the court should 
" manifest their satisfaction. A subsequent act, 
" passed in October, 1662, contained the fol- 
" lowing section : ' And in case any freeman 
" ' shall walk scandalously, or commit any scan- 
'' ' dalous offence, and be legally convicted 
" ' thereof, he shall be disfranchised, by any of 
" ' the civil courts.' "^ By the existing statute, 
already cited, " if any freeman of this state shall 
" walk scandalously, or commit any scandalous 
" offence, it shall be in the power of the supe- 
" rior court in this state, on complaint thereof to 
" them made, to disfranchise such freeman ; 
" who shall stand disfranchised, till by his good 

* Statutes of Connecticut, p. 358. 



Yg TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

*' behaviour the said superior court shall see 
" cause to restore him to his franchisement or 
" freedom again ; which the said court is em- 
" powered to do." 

We see, that under the original provision, a 
man could be disfranchised only in consequence 
of previous conviction of some scandalous of- 
fence, and of the actual infliction of the punish- 
ment consequent on conviction. Under the 
second form, it was sufficient that there had been 
a conviction, though the punishment should 
have been remitted ; or even that there was a 
walking scandalously^ without conviction of any 
scandalous oft'ence. Under the existing code, 
neither the fact of punishment, nor the fact of 
conviction, is necessary ; but, " if any freeman 
" shall walk scandalously, or commit any scan- 
" dalous oftence, it shall be in the power of the 
" superior court, on complaint thereof^ to dis- 
" franchise such freeman." Among the many 
reflections to which this language is proper to 
give birth, it cannot escape us, that by the act 
of 1662, it was said, the freeman shall be dis- 
franchised ; but, by the present, it is not that the 
superior court shall disfranchise^ but only that it 
shall be in its power to disfrandiise. As to the 
words scandalous and scandalously^ standing 
alone, as \yt now see them, they may be taken 
in much latitude of meaning. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 79 

Looking back, in conclusion, to the Constitu- 
tion of 1639, we shall now perceive, under still 
other aspects, that in no shape can it be said to 
exist, with little, nor without essential altera- 
tion, in the Constitution of the Charter. We 
have seen the general assembly reassume, under 
the chaiter, that title of supreme power in the 
commonwealth, with which, under the style of 
a general court, it had by the former consti- 
tution been invested. But, the circumstances 
were now widely different ; for the general court 
had been composed of the deputies of the free- 
men, and non-freemen indiscriminately ; and the 
general assembly was composed of the deputies 
of the freemen exclusively. To assume su- 
preme power for the assembly, was therefore to 
deprive the non-freemen of every thing which 
they had enjoyed under the constitution of 1639. 

Even to the forming of that constitution they 
had been parties ; for, though the editors of the 
statutes represent that instrument as made and 
adopted by the free planters^ and though a si- 
milar language is used by the historian, Dr. 
Trumbull ; yet, on reference to the paper it- 
self, we find the framers assuming only the more 
comprehensive description of inhabitants and re- 
sidents ; while the existence and respective pre- 
tensions of two classes of residents and inhabi- 
tants, that is, of freemen and non-freemen, is 



80 



I'KAVF.LS THROUGH PART 



established by the provisions framed. That 
there was no such distinction ; that inhabitant 
and free planter w^ere s}aionymous terms, is 
what Ave might more readily have supposed ; 
but, that tliere A\'as, is matter of history. 
Why persons were admitted inhabitants, who 
were not admitted freemen, is to be explained 
by the consideration, that the two kinds of admis- 
sion were grounded on difterent principles. It 
was desirable to the leading adventurers, that 
the number of inhabitants should be increased, 
for the general advancement of the colony, and 
more particularly for its defence ; meanwhile, 
they also desired to retain the government 
in their owti hands, from motives temporal and 
spiritual : as, in the later colony of Newhaven, 
it was established, that no man should be a free 
burgess or freeman, except only the members of 
the church. In Connecticut, there were two 
very difterent classes of settlers ; those who had 
left Europe for the sake of indulging in their re- 
ligious peculiarities, and those who had come 
witli nothing else in view, than the trade in 
hemp and furs. The seventh article of the con- 
stitution may therefore be regarded as agreed to 
by all the residents and inhabitants, as a mea- 
sure of conciliation and reciprocal advantage ; 
the elective franchise was in part allowed to the 
non-freemen ; but the deputies chosen were to 

9 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



81 



be freemen. The freemen were strictly a no- 
bility, and the non-freemen were the people. 
Of the numerical proportion of the two classes 
to each other, I find no account ; but the total 
number of inhabitants and residents, in 1639, has 
been already stated at eight hundred. I am 
equally uninformed as to the existing propor- 
tion ; that is to say, of the proportion which the 
number of the non-freemen of Connecticut, be- 
ing of the age of twenty-one years, bears to the 
whole number of the male population. I be- 
lieve, however, that it is small. 

Under the present view, it becomes explicable, 
why the choice of the public officers, which is 
given, in the first article, to the freemen, is also 
limited, by the same article, to those freemen, not 
only who had taken the oathof fidelit}^, and resided 
within the jurisdiction, but to those who had been 
admitted inhabitants^ by the major part of the 
towns in which they respectively lived. In this, 
we see the care of the non-freemen, to protect 
themselves against the effects of a very easy fraud 
on the part of the freemen ; for, as the freemen 
could always make freemen, they could, but for 
these provisions, at any time have governed an 
election, by making freemen of strangers, and of 
such as were refused to be admitted to be inha- 
bitants by the respective towns. As to the con- 
cluding member of the sentence, " or the major 

VOT,. r. T, 



82 



I RAVELS THKOUGH PART 



" piut of such as fihall then be present," it im- 
plies, if grammatically taken, that persons might 
nevertheless be admitted inhabitants of the 
towns, by the major part of the freemen then 
present at the court of the election ; a provision 
which goes to defeat the former, in regard to the 
liberties of the non-freemen. We have our 
choice, however, in giving it this interpretation, 
which is grammatical but not probable, or this 
other, which is probable but not grammatical: — 
That the freemen, capable of voting, must be 
such as had been admitted inhabitants by the 
major part of the town in which they lived, or 
by the major part of the town, or inhabitants of 
the town, present at their adinission ; a regula- 
tion in conformity with which is the modem 
practice of the towns. 

The constitution of 1639 may be traced in 
some minute particulars of the modern S3^stem, 
of which it affords the only illustration. We see, 
here, why the second Tuesday in May is called 
the clect'wn-doy^ though the election is really held 
a month before. We see, that the election was 
originally perlbrmed at a court of election, as- 
sembled annually on the second Thursday in 
April. 

The charter, which takes no notice of a court, 
by the name of a court of election, alters the 
lime of meeting from iVpril to May ; and there is 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



83 



perhaps no record of this alteration, earlier than 
the charter. The name court of election ap- 
pears to be now wholly obsolete, and unkno^AH 
to the statute-book, except in the single section 
of the act, which, borrowing the words of the 
Constitution of 1639, defines the powers of the 
general court. 

We find also in this instrument, the origin of 
that confusion in the names of general coiul and 
general assembly. Court is the term affected by 
the Constitution of 1639, and assembly is used 
preferably in the charter. Moreover, the earlier 
acts had been described as enacted in general 
cou?'t, and the practice was continued. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Connecticut — PFethersJield — Middletown. 

IN my journey to Hartford, I passed through 
a country, of part of wdiich I shall find another 
occasion to speak. Into the other part I very 
shortly returned. 

Four miles below the city of Hartford is 
Wethersfield, once called Waterto^Mi. This 
is one of the three oldest settlements on 
the river, of which the two others are Hartford 



24, TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

iind Windsor. It is, indeed, related, that the 
verj^ earliest colonists (consisting of a few men, 
without their families) passed a winter in huts, 
within the limits of Wethersfield, called, by the 
Indians or native inhabitants, Piquaug or Pe- 
queag,* in the year 1634. Wethersfield after- 
^v■ard became the hive from which several other 
towns were settled. 

A favourable soil has enabled Wethersfield to 
acquire much wealth by the culture of a particu- 
lar vegetable — the onion, of which it exports 
large quantities. The culture, which is of real 
magnitude, is chiefly, from the moderate labour 
that it requires, abandoned to the women and 
girls. All edifices, in this county, whether pri- 
vate or public, are for the most part of wood ; 
but Wethersfield has a church built of brick ; 
and strangers are facetiously told, that it M^as 
built -with onions. On explanation, it is said, 
that it was built at the cost of the female part 
of the community, and out of the profits of 
their agriculture. In passing through Wethers- 
field, I saw two little girls hoeing onions, while 
a boy of nine or ten yeai's of age held the plough, 
which was drawn by a yoke of oxen. 

The fair onion- growers unite with their indus- 
tiy a laudable caie of their beauty ; and the gay 

* Also written Pauquog. Piquaug or Piquiag seems 
to signify no more than the ivater side. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gS 

as well as fashionable clothes, in which they ap- 
pear on Sundays and other suitable occasions, 
are not unnoticed by their neighbours. In the 
field, their dress, which is contrived for protecting 
them from the sun, often disguises every linea- 
ment of the human figure. 

Wethersfield affords all the common produc- 
tions of the country ; but onions ai'e its staple ; 
and habits of indolence ai'e said to obtain 
among the men. 

The road through Wethersfield is excellent. 
From Rocky Hill, there is a wide and enchant- 
ing prospect, stretching over meadows and 
fields, watered by the Connecticut. To the 
north, in the distance, is a mountain, called 
Mount Tom. At Rocky Hill, the fabric of a 
new church or meeting-house is begun. 

Adjoining Wethersfield, and still lower down 
the river, is Middletown. This touni is one of 
the largest in the state, and contains a city of its 
own name. The city is about two miles in 
length, and though less peopled than Hart- 
ford, presents the appearance of a handsome 
village. It was incorporated in 1784, and has a 
mayor, aldermen and other municipal officers. 
The act of incoi'poration further establishes a 
city-court ; and enables the mayor, aldermen, com- 
mon council and freemen to purchase, hold and 
convey any estate, real or personal ; and the 



gg TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

mayor, aldermen and common council, in com- 
mon council, to make by-laws, regarding police, 
commerce and the government of the port. 
The acts of the common council are not of 
force, unless approved by the freemen in city 
meeting ; and they may be annulled by the su- 
perior court, if considered by that tribunal to 
be unjust or unreasonable. The law is silent 
upon the subject of admission to the freedom 
of the city, leaving that question to the city 
itself. 

The prosperity of the city depends upon its 
commerce, for which pursuit it is in some re- 
spects better situated than Hartford. Hartford, 
as being at the extreme height of the ship navi- 
gation, has more advantages, as to the com- 
mand of the country market ; but vessels can- 
not pass Middletown with their full lading. At 
Middletown, there is ten, or even twelve feet 
water, in the channel ; and ships of three hun- 
dred tons burden may be loaded and unloaded 
at the wharfs. Middletown has therefore the 
more commodious port. Its distance from the 
mouth of the river, including the windings, 
and reckoning from Saybrook Bar, is thirty 
miles. The river is here about half a mile in 
breadth. 

Ship-building is carried on to some extent in 
Middletown. In 1785, thirty vessels sailed 



OP THE UNITED STATES. g^ 

from this port. The trade is at present larger, 
though, from the increased number of traders, 
no single indi\^idual does so much business as 
formerly. The increase of trade was for several 
years interrupted, partly by misfortunes \vhich 
befel the merchants or traders, and partly by the 
ill character which they suffered themselves to 
acquire in the country round. About the }ear 
1795, a mania for land- speculation seized the 
United States throughout ; and the speculators 
of Middleto\\ii were as unfortunate as a large 
proportion of the rest. While this calamity 
diminished their means, the fai'mers impeached 
their honesty, accusing them of unfair dealing ; 
or as their phrase is, of jockeying. The trade 
was in consequence transferred to Hartford ; but 
Middlcto\vn is said to be fast recovering, alike 
its commerce, its reputation and its wealth. 

In 1797, the city was said to contain three 
hundred houses, and I believe that the num- 
ber is now scarcely greater. There are tAvo 
villages or towns, at the distance of two miles 
from each other, and respecti\'ely CLilled the 
Lower Houses and the Upper Houses ; but the 
Upper Houses constitute a suburb. They aiT 
inhabited chiefly by the families of masters of 
vessels, and other seafaring persons. Between 
the Lower Houses, or city, and the Upper 
Houses, a river falls into the Connecticut, call- 



gy TUAYELS THROUGH PART 

ed the little river, and sometimes the Ferry- 
river, over which there is at present a bridge. 

Within the city, there are two churches, of 
^vhich one belongs to the congregationalists or 
independents, which is the sect prevalent in 
Connecticut ; and one to the members of the 
church of England, here called episcopalians. 
As being the county-town of the county of 
Middlesex, Middletoxvn contains a court-house ; 
and, as a port of entry, it has a naval offi- 
cer and custom-house. There is a town-libra- 
r}^, but no public school, except the district- 
schools of the town. 

The town is divided into valuable farms, 
and presents, in every direction, luxuriant land- 
scapes. Wheat, of which the success is very 
uncertain in these countries, and which suffers 
greatly from the Hessian fly, is grown in small 
quantities. The more general crops are buck- 
wheat, rye, flax, and especially Indian corn or 
maize, on which is the chief dependence of the 
fa 'mer. Sheep are to be met with on every 
farm, but never in large flocks. The usual 
number is from fifteen to twenty-five. There 
is neither shepherd, nor shepherding in this part 
of America, nor shepherd's dogs. The Merino 
blood is in rec^uest, and spreading ; but, whe- 
ther or not this is the sheep best adapted to 
these countries, there are judges who dispute. 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gQ 

The wool and flax are manufactured on the 
farm where they are raised ; except that they ai'e 
carried abroad to be carded, fulled and dyed. I 
was told, that there is no dyer in Connecticut 
who understands the secret of communicating 
to cloth a fixed blue dye. 

The lands, stretching from the hills, called the 
Turkey Hills, tlii'ough Windsor, Middletown 
and Durham, are remarkable for their fertility. 

The city of Middletown is seated on a declivi- 
ty, on the west side of the river ; but the houses 
are chiefly near the water. The surrounding up- 
lands display a rich combination of wood and pas- 
ture. To the north-west, the country is diversi- 
fied by wide and verdant meadows, forming the 
margin of the little river ^ and indeed of the Con- 
necticut itself. Here, in the spring, an annual 
flood inundates the whole surface, interrupting 
all communication, except by boats, and fre- 
quently destroying the bridges and mills. The 
rise of water is occasioned by the rains, and by 
melting of the snow ; and this inundation, pardy 
by the lowness of the level of the soil, and partly 
by an intenaiption of the course of the Connec- 
ticut, which takes place at three miles below the 
city. 

At this spot, the river forces its way through 
a range of mountains, called in the countr}^ the 

VOL. T. M 



90 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



Eastern Range, by a pass, in some places not more 
than forty rods in width, and called the Straits. 
It is a spot of some interest, for its picturesque 
beauty, for its mineral treasures, and even for 
its civil history. 

A mile or two above the city, on the opposite 
bank, is a quarry of free -stone, of a coai'se gar- 
net-coloured grit, commonly called Connecticut- 
stone. The quaiTy is constantly ^^^:ought ; and 
on the Middletown side is a mine of cobalt, 
which was for some years in possession of a 
company of foreigners, who exported the pro- 
duce to Amsterdam. This, however, as well 
as a lead-mine in the Straits, is now neglect- 
ed. The latter was wrought during the revo- 
lution, and was then tolerably productive ; and 
it is thought, that with greater skill, and conse- 
quent economy, in the fusion of the ore, it might 
CA'cn now be rendered profitable. 

In respect of civil history, I allude to a band 
of robbers, which, for some years prior to 1792, 
committed extensive spoliations, and was at 
length discovered to have its retreat in some 
caverns in these mountains. The foundation of a 
powerful banditti had been laid ; the offenders 
not only sheltering themselves in these wilds, 
but having brought into them their wives and 
fhildren. I must subjoin, that their career, so 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gi 

far as I have learned, was maikecl by no act of 
extraordinary atrocity. 

Connected with the situation of this range of 
mountains, and the passage which the river has 
obtained through them, is a phenomenon obser^■ed 
in the to^^^l opposite to Middletown, of which the 
name is Chatham. Here, a considerable tract of 
coai'se sandy soil presents an undulating surface, 
sunk into circular and bason-like hollows, of 
greater or less diameter, or raised into hemis- 
pherical mounds. Job's Pond, a small lake, 
occupies one of the hollows ; and this kike ap- 
pears to be the remains of a larger one, of which 
the sandv resrion described has been the bed. 
Before the river obtained its present outlet 
among the mountains, and when its stream was 
of much greater ^'olume than now, its annual 
floods must have stretched much wider than at 
present, and its ordinary level must have been 
much higlier. Arrested by the Eastern Range, 
the stream spread itself into a lake. The stream 
has since by slow degrees subsided ; and of the 
lake, robbed of all foreign resources, nothing re- 
mains, but what is within the limits of Job's Pond. 
There, there are still the native springs, which an- 
ciently united their ^vater with those of the river. 
The hollows and mounds which diversify the sur- 
face, hollows and mounds nov/ alike covered with 
gi'ain, attest the eddies and counter- cuiTcnts of 



92 TRAVELS THROUGH PARI 

the stream by which the one was sunk, and the 
other raised. Phenomenons of a simiiai' kind are 
to be met with on the upper banks of the Con- 
necticut ; and every- where a thousand facts de- 
clare die ancient elevation of the water. Those 
inundations, which now yearly occur in minia- 
ture, occurred in remote ages on a gigantic scale. 

Oiher observers, however, attribute the con- 
figuration of the surface, in Chatham, to volcanic 
causes. 

Middletown dates its foundation in 1650 or 
1651, and it received its name by statute in 
1653.* The Indians, or original inhabitants, 
were at that period very numerous here. Tiie 
site of the present city was occupied by a vil- 
lage called Matabesec.f When the English 
became acquainted with it, the name of the 
reigning chief was Sowheag or Sowheage, and 
his nation was spread over, not only Matabe- 
sec, but Piquaug or Wethersfield, and other parts 
of the surrounding country. The village stood 
on the high ground, now called the upper street, 
and was defended by a ditch and palisade. Stone 
axes, arrow-heads, and fragments of pottery, the 
workmanship of the Indians, are frequently found 
in this and the adjacent lands, and particularly on 

* Trumbull's History of Connecticut. 

t This word is variously spelt. I have wished to use 
the fewest letters. 



OF THE ITNTTED STATES. 



93 



at neighbouring hill or mountain, called Indian 
Mountain. 

The soil was purchased of the Indians. In 
1673, the number of shares was fixed at fifty- 
two ; and this, at that period, was the number 
of householders within the town. The more 
notable of these were either from England direct, 
or else from the upper towns of Wethersfield 
and Hartford. Several, however, \\ere from 
Rowley, Chelmsford and Woburn in Massachu- 
setts.* 

Among those who accompanied or followed 
Dr. Priestley to the United States, were several 
families which chose Middleto^\^l for their new 
residence ; but, nearly all of them fell into mis- 
fortunes here, and all have returned to Europe, 

with the exception of one, that of Watkin- 

son, esquire. 

This place is the residence of Mr. Dana, the 
member of congress, and of Mr. Richaid. Alsop, 
the translator of Molina's History of Chili, a 
work lately printed in Connecticut, and since in 
London. Mr. Alsop is one of the few gentle- 
men, in these countries, to whom fortune has in- 
dulged, or taste endeared, the rural life com- 
bined with literary leisure. Besides the transla- 
tion already mentioned, Mr. Alsop has produced 

* Trumbull's History of Connecticut. 



94 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



many original compositions in verse, and is par- 
ticularly read in the works of the Spanish and 
Italian poets, and the Northern bards. There 
are in this city several other inhabitants of par- 
ticular respectability. 

Middletown has a public walk, but it is ill- 
kept up ; nor is this wonderful, since the open 
country, with all its walks and rides, is still at the 
door of every inhabitant of the infant city. Even 
the burial-grounds, in the centre of its limits, are 
still country church-yards ; and to them, in con- 
clusion, I shall lead the sentimental reader, rather 
than to the alleys of the city-promenade. 

So much do ignorance and false taste pre- 
dominate among mankind, that even the tombs 
are every-where remarkable, more frequent- 
ly for traces of these failings, than for features 
of a happier class ; — the tombs, to which no 
form of folly might be supposed bold enough 
to approach ; where thought might be imagin- 
ed to stand collected ; and where the heart alone 
— the heart, gi^and and tender — might seem pri- 
vileged to indite ! 

But, the heart can indite only through the me- 
dium of the tongue ; and the tongue is fashion- 
ed by education. Our education surrounds us 
with false taste ; and even robs our language, 
not only of force, but of precision and meaning. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



95 



Hence, when we intend to be serious, our tongue 
is often jocose ; tmd, when we seek to be grace- 
ful, it is often grotesque. Our education leads 
us away from Nature ; and our endowments 
are rai'ely vigorous enough to caiTy us back to 
her, laden, as we ought to be, with the spoils 
of Art. 

The follo\i ing epitaphs are examples of the 
ambiguous, from the East Burial-ground or 
Grave-yard, in this place : 

" IN memory of Mrs. Desire Jatexvife of Mr. 
" Abjier Ely^ who died September \st^ 1764. 
" aged 48 years : 

" A loving wife, and tender mother, 

" Left this base world, to enjoy the other." 

" DAN Collens^ son of Jonathan and Mary 
" Collens, deed May ye 13, 1735, in the 8th 
" year of his age : 

" This lovely pleasant child 

" He was our only one ; 

" Akho' we have buried three befoi-e, 

" Two daughters and a son. 

" God give us gi'ace, with Job, to sav; 
" The Lord doth give, and take away, 
" And bietised be his name for ave." 



gQ TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 

I pass by a crowd of minor effusions, and 
whimsical misspellings, and add only the follow- 
ing, remarkable chiefly for its age, and for the 
figurative style of the day : 

" HERE'S a cedar tall, gently wafted ore 

" From Great Britain's isle to this western shore: 

" Near fifty years crossing the ocean wide, 

" Yet's anchored in this grave from storm or tide : 

" Yet remember the body onely here ; 

" His blessed soul fixed in a higher sphere : 

" Here lies the body of Giles Hamlin^ esquire ^ 
" adged 67 years ^ who departed this life the first 
" day of September^ anodom. 1682." 



CHAPTER IX. 

Connecticut — Haddam — East Haddam. 

IN Hartford, I had had the honour of being 
introduced to the Reverend Mr. Parsons, a clergy- 
man settled in East Haddam, and to Colonel 
Moseley, a representative in congress for the state 
of Connecticut, and an inhabitant of the same 
place ; and the polite invitations of both these 
gentlemen induced me to take an early opportu- 
nity of making a visit there. 

East .Haddam lies on the east bank of the 
Connecticut, opposite Haddam, of which it 
formerly composed a moiet}^ ; for, at the first co- 
lonization, all the towns on the Connecticut 
were allowed a territory of equal dimensions on 
each side of the stream. 

Haddam adjoins Middletown, and its princi- 
pal village or settlement is about ten miles below 
the city of Middletown, and eighteen or twenty 
above the mouth of the river. It was pur- 
chased of the Indians in 1662, and is called the 
second town in rank in the county of Middle- 
sex. 

There is in this, as in almost every other di- 
rection, a turnpike-road ; for, these-roads being 

VOL. I. N 



98 



TRA^^:LS THROUGH PART 



here made objects of private gain, and not as in 
England, of merely public cai-e, they are esta- 
blished \vith avidit}^, on the smallest prospect of 
advantage. The road is caiTied along the edge 
of a very lofty region, deep at the foot of which, 
flows in breadth and beauty the Connecticut. 
After ascending the mountains which form the 
Straits, the countrv still maintains a command- 
ing level, nearly to the ocean. Small tributary 
streams intersect the road, and, in several in- 
stances, are employed in turning mills ; and nume- 
rous gullies and i"avines were at this time open, 
occasioned by the heavy rains which for some 
time previously had fallen. 

Arrived at the ferry, the road afforded a gra- 
dual descent to the level of the river ; and, a lit- 
tle before the close of evening, I reached the 
eastern bank, which is rocky and precipitous. 
The road ascended by degrees to the same 
height as those on the opposite shore. The 
summit appeared to be more rocky. 

The landing is the place of trade ; and here 
are several shops and warehouses, 'called stores ^ 
for the sale of foreign goods, and for the recep- 
tion of domestic produce, in which the former 
ai"e paid for. 

It was night before I had proceeded far ; and 
I reached, by the light of a resplendent moon, a 
green, on which stood a handsome church, of 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 99 

wood, white piinted. At a little distance, of 
similar materials and corresponding appearance, 
I found the house of Mr. Parsons, in which I 
received the most hospitable welcome. 

In the morning, I had the pleasure of accom- 
panying Colonel Moseley to Saybrook, the lowest 
town on the east bank of the river. We recross- 
ed the ferry ; and, after some miles, descended 
into a flat county, the skirts of which are washed 
by the sea. 

Close to the beach are the remains of the fort 
built under the authority of the royal patent, 
granted to Lord Say and Seal, and to Lord 
Brooke ; and near the fort is a cheerful village, of 
which the houses and church and spire resemble 
those of many villages in England. 

We returned in the evening to East Haddam. 
This town, which, as already observed, w^s ori- 
ginally a portion of Haddam, was separately set- 
tled in 1704. " A spot in East Haddam," says 
an American topographer, " was famous for 
" Indian paw aw s^ and was subject for many 
" years to earthquakes and various noises, which 
" the first settlers, agreeable to the superstitious 
" ideas of that age, attributed to these pawaws. 
" An old Indian being asked what was the rea- 
" son of such noises in this place, answered, 
" ' The Indians' god was very angr}% because 



JQQ TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" ' the Englishmen's god came here.' These 
" noises iU'c now very frequently heard." 

The noises alluded to are said to have been 
called by the Indians matchi moodus ; or the place 
itself they called Matchi Moodus, on account of 
the noises. Matchi signifies evit The settlers 
commonly called the noises Moodus-noises ; 
and they considered, and probably with reason, 
the name, Matchi or Mache Moodus, to be that 
of the place now called Haddam and East Had- 
dam. East Haddam, more particularly, is fa- 
mous by this appellation, in the New England 
manuscripts, as the supposed scene of infernal 
rites. 

It is uncertain, whether by paxvaws, some- 
times written powaws and poxvoxvs^ the author of 
the above recital understands the priests or offi- 
ciators in the religious ceremonies of the In- 
dians, or rather the ceremonies themselves ; for 
both were called by the same name, as well as 
regarded with the same horror, by the settlers. 

The noises, notwithstanding what is above ad- 
vanced, aie not at present common. On the con- 
trary, it is said that they have been very rare, if not 
wholly unknown, for the last thirty years. Their 
origin is certainly similar to that of earth- 
quakes ; and their present infrequency agrees with 
the general cessation of these phenomenons in 
this mountainous part of the country. In the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. iQ^ 

hundred and fifty -four years which elapsed be- 
tween 1628 and 1785, the occurrence of no 
fewer than foit}^-five is on record ; and it is a 
combination of facts, well calculated to awaken 
our attention, that within less than two hundred 
yeai's, there should have been ascertained, in 
this part of the world, by well authenticated 
history, the most sensible alterations in three of 
the great kingdoms of nature : the springs are 
known to have decreased ; the direction of 
winds to have changed ; and earthquakes, from 
being frequent, to have become rare. M. 
Volney attributes the earthquakes and volcanic 
phenomenons of these regions to the schistous 
stratum which prevails becween the Potowmac 
and the Saint- Lawrence, and which, as he truly 
represents, abounds in sulphur;* but, this the- 
ory, combined with die fact of diminished fre- 
quency in the phenomenons of subterraneous 
combustion, supposes diminished fuel, and ex- 
tends our ideas of the rapid progress which has 
been made on this continent, in the change of 
natural substance and constitution. 

PaxiKi, or pawaw, spelt also /^otya/z, is a word 
which I have not found in so general use among 

* See Vue du Sol^ Climat, Is'c. des Etats Unis. Par 
M. Volney. Ch. iv. — M'oises of an earthquake are said to 
have been heard at New London, which is at a small 
distance from East Haddam, in May, 1809. 



IQ2 TRAVELS THllOUGH PART 

the Indians of New England, as it has always 
been among the colonists and their descendants. 
It implies a sacred profession, including physic, 
prophecy, the direction of consciences and the 
performance of religious rites. These rites, ac- 
cording to the practice very generally received in 
the Pagan world, consist in dances,* and even 
in frantic gestures and faintings, supposed to pro- 
ceed from the inability of the human frame to 
sustain the inspirations of divinity. In these 
cases, the priest vsmy fall ; and it is to be sus- 
pected that pawa has its derivation from the 
verb pa^ to fall. Be this as it may, the pawa 
is the same with the shaman of the north-east- 
em parts of Asia,t and with the jongleur^ jug- 
gler, or diviner, of the French writers on the In- 
diums of North America. 

Pawas are said to have been in full use in New- 
England at the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, and not entirely to have disappeared before 

* By pawas, considei'ed as rites, dances are usually 
understood. Even a verb has been made expressly; to 
fioivav}^ to dance, to perform fiaivas. In Pennsylvania, 
pawas appear to have received the name of canticoes, ap- 
parently from their so7igs. 

t See Sauer's Account of Billings's Expedition. Lon- 
don, 1802. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. jq3 

1740.* Indeed, before that date, the Indians 
themselves had almost disappeared. 

Once, at a village of" French Indians, in con- 
versation with a descendant of a Dutch prisoner 
there, I attempted, at first in vain, to learn some- 
thing concerning pawns ; but, on coming to an 
understanding, as to the description of persons 
intended by this word, I was assured by my in- 
structor, that he could find no English, for the 
name given these persons by the Indians, but 
this — the divine men. The title, if we 
desire to treat it respectfully, we may assi- 
milate with that of divines^ clergymen, or men 
conversant in things divine ; — if to debase it, it 
will make cunning men, conjurers, or di- 
viners. The Latin is vates. 

If the settlers attributed the Moodits -noises to 
the pawas, whether pawas the priests, or pawas 
the rites or sacrifices, they undoubtedly mistook 
the effect for the cause. The pawas did not 
occasion the noises at Matchi Moodus, but 
dances and sacrifices were there celebrated on 
account of the noises. The Indians believed 
them to proceed from the manitos, spirits or 
gods, whose residence they therefore supposed 
that country to be. Earthquakes and Moodus- 
noises are thus understood by Ossian, where he 
makes Rothmar fall " as falls the Stone of Lo- 

* MS§ of the late Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles. 



104 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



" da, shook at once from rocking Drumanard, 
" v'hen spirits heave the earth in their wrath.'''' ^ 

East Haddam has a rocky and uneven surface, 
but a strong and fertile soil. The church, which I 
have already mentioned, and which was lately built 
for about six thousand dollars, is of an agreea- 
ble architecture, in the modern taste ; but it has 
been the occasion of a religious schism in this 
town, or rather in this society, or rather perhaps 
in this church, in some small degree curious. 

A person deceased, bequeathed to the town, 
or to the society, (for I am not certain 
which,) a plot of ground, on which to build a 
church. When the parties interested met, it 
was objected by a certain proportion of them, 
that the ground was too far to the east, to the 
west, to the north or to the south ; in a word, 
that it \vas not in the centre of the town, or of 
the society, a consideration never neglected, in 
these countries, where all men's rights are to be 
defended. The remedy proposed, was to sell 
the plot bequeathed, and A\ith the avails, and if 
needful with some addition, to buy another 
plot, more advantageously situated. The ma- 
jority refused to allow weight to the objection, 
and rejected the proposal, alleging, that though the 
ground was not, by actual measurement, in the 

* Temora, Book V. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



105 



centre desired, it was so neaily so, as to be, to 
every reasonable end, as if it were the same. I 
saw the church, and I was shown also the ground 
that ^\^s acknowledged to be central ; and 
they appeared to be about a furlong apart. The 
minority persevered in their demand ; and, at 
length, unable to succeed, they not onl}' with- 
drew themselves from the church, but actually 
changed the system of religious worship. 
Thev built a church of their own, and hired 
(so they tenn it) a minister of the church 
of England ; and thus this church obtained a 
footing in East Haddam, where it had never 
had a footing before. 



VOL. I. 



CHAPTER X. 

Connecticut — Societies and Churches. 

1 HAVE used the words society and church 
m senses new to most English readers ; and it 
is therefore time that I should explain their ap- 
plication, in the system civil and religious of 
Connecticut, and in that of the sect of Chris- 
tians, calling themselves congregationalists, pres- 
byterians, or independents. 

A society is a communit}^ or coq^oration, 
established, for the most part, for the twofold 
object of religious worship and common school- 
ing ; but, in some instances, for religious wor- 
ship only. It is also, at least in a school view, 
cither the whole, or part of a town, defined b} 
geographical limits. 

Sometimes, a town composes one society ^ 
sometimes, it includes two or more ; sometimes, 
a remote corner of one town is joined, for lo- 
cal convenience, with the adjoining corner of 
another, into one society. So far, the arrange- 
ments suppose uniformity of religious opinions ; 
but, if these jar, then tlie society, as to church 
arrangements, has no reference to territorial sub- 
division. 



TllAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. j^O? 

Two or three societies may subsist in the 
same town ; and while one neighbour belongs to 
one, the next may belong to a second. In like 
manner, a society may be composed of portions 
of the inhabitants of two, three or four towns, 
who, severally disagreeing with their immediate 
neighbours, unite themselves with each other; 
but, however, societies may be constituted, as to 
matters of religious worship, the second object, 
that of common schooling, is always of a local 
nature, and to\Mis, therefore, uniformly consist 
of one or more societies, considered as dis- 
tricts. Letters may consequently be addressed, 
and strangers directed, to such or such a town, 
with the addition oi first — second — or third so- 
ciety. The stranger, indeed, is often more 
perplexed than assisted by such a direction ; 
and Avhen, in the depth of a forest, or on the 
side of a solitary mountain, he asks his v.ay, 
he scarcely comprehends what is intended by tell- 
mg him, that he is actually in society, second, 
first, or third. — Topographers, however, take 
the term freely in this sense ; and, in describ- 
ing a town, relate, that the first society is 
low, and the second, wet. 

It belongs to societies, as ecclesiastical socie- 
ties, to provide for the maintenance of a minis- 
ter of religion, and to build and repair churches; 
and as school societies, to support, in eveiy so- 



jQg TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

ciety, one or more schools, providing for school- 
masters and mistresses, and building and re- 
pairing school-houses ; and, for these purposes, 
to vote and to levy taxes. 

1. Societies are made and constituted by the 
general assembly. 

2. Societies are either with or without local 

limits. 

3. The law contemplates, in the general, all 
societies, sometimes called ordinary societies^ as 
of the presbyterian, congregational persuasion ; 
and no inhabitant is qualified to vote in any 
society-meeting, unless in possession of a cer- 
tain estate, and in full communion with their 
church. He must also be a settled and ap- 
proved inhabitant : " No person shall pre- 
*' sume to vote in any society meeting, afore - 
" said, unless such person hath a freehold in the 
" same town or society, rated at nine dollars, or 
" one hundred and thirty -four dollars in the com- 
" mon list, or is a person of full age, and in full 
*' communion with the church ; nor shall any 
" person who is, or shall be, by the laws of this 
" state, freed or exempted from the payment of 
" those taxes, granted by any town or society, 
" for the support of the worship and ministry of 
" the presbyterian, congregational or consociated 
" churches in this state, and for the building 
" and maintiiining meetmg-houses for such wor- 



OP THE UNITED STATES. jqo 

** ship, on account or by reason of his dissent- 
" ing from the way of worship and ministry 
" aforesaid, be allowed or admitted to act or 
" vote in any town or society meeting, in those 
" votes which respect or relate to the support of 
'' the worship and ministry aforesaid, and the 
" building and maintaining of the meetmg- 
" houses aforesaid." 

4. The votes of the qualified, settled and ap- 
proved inhabitants, are bindmg on the rest. 

5. The settled, qualified and approved inha- 
bitants, in each society, are required to assem- 
ble " in the month of December, or in any other 
*' month in the year, for ordering the affairs of 
" the society, and may by a majority of votes, 
'•' when so assembled, choose a committee, a 
^' moderator, a clerk, a collector and a trea- 
^* surer." 

6. They may also impose and levy taxes " on 
" the inhabitants of such society^ and others by 
" ia^v rateable by such society, for the raising 
" such sum or sums of money as may be needed 
" for the support of the ministry and school 
" there, and other matters necessary for them 
" to do." 

7. Fines may be imposed and levied by dis- 
tress on persons elected into society-offices, and 
refusing to serve ; and are applied, " one-half to 
" the complainer, who shall prosecute to effect, 



IIQ TfiAVELS THROUGH PART 

" and the other half to the treasurer of the so- 

" ciety." 

8. Where the two or more societies have the 
same Hmits and boundaries, the members are to 
be ascertained by enrohiient of their names ; and 
" persons who shall arrive at the age of twenty- 
" one yeai's, or women ^vho shall become 
" widows, dwelling within the limits of such 
" societies," may make choice, at any time 
within twelve months, of that society in the rolls 
of which they prefer entering their names. " The 
" estates of non-residents pay to the society 
" lowest in the list, within such limits, which 
" supports the ministry by taxing." But, though 
this provision, by the terms of the act of 1786, 
is general, it is tacitly limited by one of 1801. 
The society/ -taxes are of two classes, as the ob- 
jects of the society are also two ; and are called 
school-taxes and ecclesiastical, and sometimes 
ministerial taxes ; and the latter, by the act last 
mentioned, where collected on the estates of non- 
residents, iu'e given to that " denomination of 
" Christians," meaning the society of that deno- 
mination, to which the non-residents belong:. 

o 

There is some ambiguity, arising from the col- 
lisions and phraseology of the acts ; but the in- 
tention appears to be as here stated. 

9. In neglect of making choice of a society, 
" the persons brought up within said limits shall 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 1 • 

" belong to that society to which their parents 
*' belonged, (if they dwelt there,) otherwise to 
" the society to which the head of the family in 
" which they v'ere brought up, belonged ; and 
" widows, to the society to which their husbands 
" did belong ; and persons who come from any 
" other place to dwell there, shall be taxed by 
" the society lo\vest in the list within such limits, 
" which support the ministry by taxing, until 
" they make their election^ as aforesaid." 

10. But, nothing in these provisions is to 
affect the *' privileges allowed by law to any 
" persons who soberly dissent from the worship 
" and ministry established by the laws of this 
" state ;" and it is enacted accordingly, that 
" such inhabitants of towns and societies as have 
" obtained, or hereafter shall obtain, liberty of 
" the general assembly to procure, and have the 
" preaching of the gospel among themselves for 
" certain months in the year, distinct and sepa- 
" rate from the established place of worship in 
" such town or society to which they belong, 
" shall and ma}', when and so often as there may 
" be occasion, meet together at such time and 
" place as shall be appointed, and according to 
" tlie notice thereof to be given them, at least 
" five days before such meeting, by their com- 
" mittee, or, for want of committee, by one of 
" tlie said principal inhabitants ; and being so 



112 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" assembled, may choose a clerk to enter their 
*' votes, and also a committee of three or more 
" able, discreet men, of the inhabitants afore- 
" said, to order the prudential affairs of such 
" precincts, for the end aforesaid ; and may by 
" their major vote in such their meetings, grant 
" and lay such rates and taxes on the said inha- 
" bitants as shall be needful for the support of 
" the minister whom they shall procure to preach 
" with them for such time, and for other neces- 
" sary charges arising among them ; and to ap- 
" point a collector or collectors for the gathering 
" such rates, who shall have the same power to 
" proceed in collecting the same as collectors of 
" societies have, and shall be accountable there- 
" for in the same manner as collectors of society 
" rates by law ai'e." 

Excepting in the choice which is permitted, as 
to support or non-support of the establishment, 
in the maintenance of the clergy by taxation,- 
much similitude will be observed, in this dis- 
tribution, to the parishes, parish-rates, parish or 
vestry-meetings, and other parochial laws and 
usages in England. An attempt has been made 
to identify the towns of New England with the 
decejinar'ies or tvthin2:s of EnHand — " Decen- 
" naries or towiis y"* but, the constitutions of 

* Specimen of Republican Instilution;^'. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 



ii; 



the towns appears to be rather a mixture of those 
of the shire, hundred and parish. Like the En- 
gUsh hundreds, the towns had anciently a con- 
stable for their chief ministerial officer. Some 
towns, indeed, appeared to have had more than 
one constable, in this capacity.* In truth, the 
society, town and county, in these countries, are 
new modifications of the parish, hundred and 
shire, in which the powers and immunities are 
differently distributed. The clergy being other- 
wise providedfor, the j&amA-me6'^m^ levies no tax 
for this purpose ; but, in other respects, it is com- 
petent to more than the society -meeting ; but, 
what is withheld from the society-meeting, be- 
longs to the tow7i-meeti?ig ; and the town-meet- 
ing engrosses much of what belongs, in England, 
to the shire. There are in England, county- 
meetings, and in New England, town-meetings, 
convened on political occasions. As a popular 
engine, the county-meeting is more powerful 
than the town-meeting. — Of the town-meeting, 
while, on the one side, the town has been 
looked for in the venerable institutions of 
Alfred, the meeting, on the other, has been 
identified with the scenes of ancient elo- 
quence : " From that sera," says an academic 

* See provisions of the Constitution of 1639, cited in 
Chap. VII. 

VOL I. I' 



1]^4 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

orator, (the xnx of the estabUshment of a school 
of eloquence in the Peloponnesus,) " through the 
*' long series of Greek and Roman history, down 
" to the gloom of universal night, in which the 
" glories of the Roman empire expired, the 
" triumphs and the splendour of eloquence are 
" multiplied and conspicuous. Then it was that 
" the practice of the art attained a perfection ever 
" since um^ivalled, and to which all succeeding 
" times have listened with admiration and de- 
" spair. At Athens and Rome a town-meeting 
" could scarcely be held, without being destined 
" to immortality ; a question of property be- 
" tween individual citizens could scarcely be 
" litigated, without occupying the attention, and 
" engaging the studies, of the remotest nations 
" and the most distant posterity."* 

A topic, of w^hich the mystery surpasses that 
of the societies, is that of the churches. We are 
not unfomiliiu- with this term, as applied, as well 
to a body of persons as to a building ; but if the 
reader imagines that the societies, or even the set- 
tled, approved and qualified inhabitants of those 
societies, paying, as is said in England, scot and 

*An Inaugural Oration, delivered at the Authbr's 
Installation as Boylston Professor of Rhetorick and Ora- 
tory, at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, oa Thursday, r2th June, 1806. By John Quincy 
Adams. Boston, 1806. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. H^ 

lot, duly attending divine worship, and agree- 
ing in all things with the church, are, after all, 
the churches, he is to leai'n that he labours in 
error. 

One Sunday, or as it is here uniformly deno- 
minated, one sabbath, I accompanied an entire 
family to church. The master of the family 
was of the middle age, and performed, as is com- 
mon with the most respectable persons, the 
office of chief chorister, or leader of the band, to 
the singers. Returning to his house, I missed a 
young man who had been with us ; and, on in- 
quiring for him, was informed, that he had stayed 
behind, to receive the sacrament — with the ad- 
dition, that " He was a member of the church." 
Not immediately comprehending the import of 
this exclusive title, I was at length made to under- 
stand, that there was no member of the church 
among the upper members of this family ; 
diat the church consists in a narrow circle, with- 
in the circle of settled, qualified and approved 
inhabitants, as that is within the circle of the 
societv ; and that it is only to the church that 
the sacrament of the Last Supper is adminis- 
tered. 

The latter circumstance will occasion less 
surprise, if we call to mind, that the officiating 
clerg}" ai'e every-wherc allowed, under a ceitain 
degree of restraint, the right of discriminating 



j^g TKAVELS THROUGH PART 

between worthy and unworthy candidates. As 
to the particular case in question, a religious 
discipline of some severity was imposed on the 
church ; a discipline more agreeable to that mor- 
bid piety, which, in particular instances, seizes 
upon youth, than with those sentiments which 
wise and A'irtuous men, of more experience, com- 
monly approve. Not only cards, but dances, 
songs and music were forbidden to the church. 

On points of this kind, and, indeed, on many 
others, every church has its owti discipline. The 
church is that portion of the inhabitants of a so- 
ciety which are setUed, qualified and approved, 
and particularly which are in full communion ; 
and it is these only, as we have seen, that can 
vote at society-meetings, and whose will is 
binding on the rest. 

The church is a term not found in the provi- 
sions of the statute-book, because these look 
only to the civil or temporal concerns of the 
establishment. The church is a spiritual so- 
ciety or congi'egation. 

I might here enter further into the religious 
institutions of the state, or, with still more reason, 
into the system of schools, which, as has appealed, 
is included in that of the societies ; or explain 
the tax-lists^ of which some mention has already 
more than once occurred. But, I quit, for the 
present, inquiries of this nature ; inquiries, the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



117 



full and early pursuit of which I have the 
less reluctantly allowed myself, because they in- 
troduce us to an accurate acquaintance with the 
genius, the customs and the manners, of the peo- 
ple among whom we are ; and because, they 
form the ground of the picture which these 
volumes are to display. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Connecticut — Berlin. 

I OUGHT sooner, perhaps, to have prepa- 
red those, to whom the topography of the United 
States is new, for the extraordinary nomencla- 
ture that distinguishes it. While the reader 
is thinking of nothing but the little, though not 
unboastful, republic of Connecticut, the head of 
my chapter suddenly carries him to the royal 
fortress of Frederic. I am guilty, nevertheless, 
of none of that curvetting which a Yorick was 
able to indulge in, but soberly travelling the 
turnpike-road, from East Haddam, back to 
Hartford. 

Greater peiplexities, hereafter, tlireaten the 
reader that shall follow me. Not only has it plea- 
sed the good people of New England to decorate 



118 



IRAVELS THROUGH PART 



their towns with every name that is of note, in 
ancient or in modern, in profane or in sacred his- 
tory, but they have often applied these names in 
immediate contempt of things ; calUng north, 
south ; towns, shires ; and hills, vales. A 
dav's ride will caiTy a man from Middlesex to 
Jericho, and thence to Athens, Corinth, Hyde 
Park, Peru, Jamaica, Georgia, Bristol, China, 
Guildhall, Fershire, Scotland, Mount Tabor, 
Babylon, Bedlam, Padanaram and Cheapside. 
It is an even chance, but on reaching Mount 
Tabor, he finds a plain ; and so of the other 
denominations ; except, indeed, that he may 
be sure of wit and elegance in Athens, and 
splendid luxury in Corinth. He shall find Ash- 
ford upon a hill ; Danbiiri/ and M-a.r\borough 
where there is no borough; and Cumberland 
where the Cymbri was never heard of. Even 
names of original composition are equally des- 
titute of meaning ; there is no borough in New 
England, unless all its towns be boroughs, in 
fact though not in name ; and yet we read of 
T>Q.\\ty\hurgh and Grceii* sborough. 

Hapless he, whose imagination is mocked with 
the name of his native village, far left under the 
canopy of other skies! When the sun rises, he sets 
forth, half promising himself to behold the dark 
and ivied battlements of its church, empurpled by 
the evening ray. Evening descends, and he is told 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ng 

that he has performed his journey ; but, the 
church, the copse, the gardens and the cottages, 
Avhere are they ? 

Nor is it enough that he reconciles himself to 
the new association, and learns that there may be 
a Delhi without palaces or pagodas, without 
baths or palm-trees, but with wide acres of stumps 
and trunks of trees, naked, gray and black ; 
and here and there a hut of logs. This is 
not enough. The name returns upon him 
thrice in a day ; he travels from Pekin in the 
morning, and he sleeps at Pekin at night. 
But the Pekin of the morning was a sea-port 
or a mountain ; and the Pekin of the night is a 
cluster of saw-mills. Every state, and some- 
times every county, recurs to the same names. 

In the earlier periods of the colonies, the li- 
cense was somewhat less extravagant ; because, 
though names were ai'bitrarily borrowed and 
imposed, yet there Avas some motive, some 
sentiment, directing the choice ; and names of 
places are rational, \\hen they have reference 
to a historical fact, as much as M^hen they 
are purely geographical. The name of a found- 
er, or of the birth-place or residence of a 
founder, may be fairly given, upon principles 
of natural pride, or natural affection ; and a 
. kindred motive often lead the first colonists of 
New England to name their towns after the 



joQ niA>XLS THROCGH PART 

Imlli-^aces or former residences of their fk- 
Tourite ckrgy. But, now, little of this sort is 
reganfcd- There are no Peru%-ians in Peru, nor 
Chinese in Chiiia, nor aldCTraen new giants in 
die g^ens and forests (rf GuildhalL It is matter 
of fee*, that the clwice is often made on no 
atfaer principles than that aname sounds prettily 
on the ear. Persons, appointed on ccMnmittecs for 
naminy towns, hare tcM me, that their resource 
had been, to turn over a gazetteer, and cull from 
the aJ^ihabet a few well sounding names. The 
lists had been then submitted to the town-meet- 
1!^, aid the t^iee eflfected- 

In a town in ^Nlaine, I was informed, that a dif- 
fiacnt name firom diat tdiich that town now bears, 
hsd hten at first imposed by vote of the town- 
ineeling ; bat, a jwincipal inhabitant, who arri- 
ved a litde too late, on promising his neighbours a 
cask of rum, procured tiie vote to be rescinded, 
and his own oame to be re»eivei Towns of- 
ten <^iai]ge thes* names. 

I heartily join in the regrets of those, wiio 
wish that the Indian names c^ places had 
been more generally preser\-ed; and this, not 
firom any idle prc!kTeace of a foreign language 
to my mother tongue, nor from any particular 
admiration of the sounds; but, from the agree- 
ment wfaidithose namespo%i»essed nith the j^aces 
ti^' dencted. The sa\'age has no temptatk» to 
1 



CSZEIB^T. 



Lii 



hf ifadr lig^ —eSfc cr kisin miMiJHB 

itrad ^ rs^er^ ht ^tam& eke bead af^&iKia:. ari 
■ixa ioRSL Alibc aor aB^bad. kkfibi^si^ 

ike hKomac tte < ■ ■ m' siaot. Sock kde de> 

S L Iflllll of ikc IwfilM SMKS ikx IK Siil K- 

tHftad; and itrynnsina.. yi Vifinr ik^Tjir p^"" 5y 
s> ibese ^KKSk 'Tfp^ deM aii»«K cxcSasmesr 
viikife ckif»c«erGf caoHftr.BiilicvkiafeaflaKB^ 
flMiBi ihii iwi^HMr I ik 1 Tk' n^TT I Tkhiff i 
seDsdksskBip; and if d^ reader ssEti «idik»> 
pioeace froi ks hirtnrwn,, kt kka asacxs per 
dfe^ pen doc kere c£«muks kt»pd|pa^! 

TkeK ave dKreioK bo ^wssuok in Bcs^ 
TkKS lova v.^ eriecied ki 1TS5. and k><vMi|pk>- 
9ed of pM^ of ikKe sockoes or pok^iksn. caft- 
ed KeoskigiDQ. Xoor Brk^ anl Wofdw^fts^* 
aMdpnrvkwt^y bflai^;kig ks*. :c^k^ tevra^ 

of MiddkKWA. Wcei»i&^ _ c 

Its exteM ts noK^ duai &\^ BiiSk> . 
soudk; but krs£>troai ciesitd«>fsc. ..^n:. 

k is bordei«d by Ok- £re&r Hwr, m r 4 

course of &»? or >i3i. m^t:^ < Cost- 

nectkui, at Madik^o«i:u •» >^v-v. .^ .% mkkk 
pibce k Ittsbeen a^Lnrj^y aKs^^nrv^. bi ^ 
^easoQ* k SM[p|£e> sbuni^uKY of ^ 



122 "IRAVELS THROUGH PART 

river, and the brooks which empty into it, wa- 
ter a great part of Berlin. Of the exact period 
in which this part of the country, that is, the 
country between Wallingford and Wethersfield, 
was first settled, I am not informed. 

When the road between New Haven and 
Hartford was originally made, a Mr. Belcher, 
commonly called Governor Belcher, received a 
stipend from the government, on condition of 
his residing here, and keeping an inn, or, as it is 
called, a tavern. The Indians were at this time 
troublesome ; and mention is made of a wall 
built by Mr. Belcher, as if for pui-poses of de- 
fence. In this way, however, it could be of no 
use ; for it was of more than a mile in circuit, 
and formed of uncemented stones, raised only 
four feet high, like the walls at present common 
in the country. 

This wall, however, had some extraordinary 
personages among its builders. It is current 
in tradition, that fourteen or fifteen settlers 
came into Mr. Belcher's neighbourhood, from 
the town of Fai'mington, of whom the whole 
band possessed unusual strength and sta- 
ture. Two were of the name of Hart. Of 
these, one, whose son, at the age of seven- 
ty yeai's, is still alive, is said to have had 
bones so large, that an Indian, who, with others, 
was passing through the settlement, stopped, 



OF THE UXITED STATES. ]^2^3 

ailcl examined him with sui*prise. Mr. Hart 
and his fellow- giants were employed by Mr, 
Belcher on his wall. 

Turkey Mountain, in this town, aiFords a 
beautiful prospect, extending to Mount Tom ; 
and, from Lamentation Mountain, of which the 
west side is rocky and precipitous, may be 
counted twenty churches. The entire country 
around is very delightful to the eye, and the soil 
excellent. Lamentation Mountain is so named 
from an accident easily supposed to befall an 
eai'ly settler m a wilderness. A Mr. Chester 
lost his way upon this mountain. Being missed, 
his neighbours went in search of him, making 
noises in the woods, and uttering lamentations. 
After a lapse of se^'eral da}'s, he had the good 
fortune to meet with them. He lived to a good 
old age, and was at length buried in Wethers- 
field. Over his grave, there is said to be a sculp- 
tured stone. From some, I have understood that 
the sculptures had relation to his adventure ; but 
from others the contrary. Time has rendered 
them obscure. 

I was obligingly permitted to look into the 
town-records of Berlin ; and if the reader is 
desirous, like myself, to leani customs and 
maimers, rather from actual and familiar details, 
than from the arbitrary epithets, and descriptive 
arts, of those who treat of them, he will think 



j^24 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

some extracts from these records acceptable. 
It is my wish that he should see things, as often 
as possible, for himself : " The traveller into a fo- 
" reign countr}^," says LordBacon, "knows more 
" by the eye, than he that stayeth at home can 
" by the relation of the traveller." — It is desira- 
ble tliat the stayer at home should be placed, 
when it is convenient, in the situation of the 
traveller. 

The first town-meeting in Berlin was held on 
the 13th of June, 1785, at which General Selah 
Hart was chosen moderator and treasurer ; Syl- 
vester Wells, town-clerk; Jonathan Belding, 
collector of state taxes ; and General Selah 
Hart, Daniel Mather and Elias Berkley, select- 
men. 

At the annual meeting, held on the 1st day 
of December, 1786, Amos Hosford was chosen 
moderator, and Roger Riley, also in the 
commission of the peace, town-clerk and 
treasurer. 

" At the s^me meeting, Amos Peck, Noah 
" Stanley and Selah Savage, were chosen se- 
" lectmen, to order the prudentials of the town, 
" for the year ensuing." 

At this meeting, also, were chosen six grand- 
jurors, six ty thing men, nine listers, twenty- 
one surveyors of highways, three town-collec- 
tors, seven fence-viewers, three key-keepers, 



OF THE UXITED STATES. ^Q^ 

eight hay-wards, one leather- sealer, two sealers 
of dry measures, one sealer of weights, one 
sealer of liquid measures, one inspector of lum- 
ber, and four constables, in all seventy-tluree 
officers. 

In to\\ii- meeting, on the 31st May, 1797, it 
was voted, that the price of labour, for repair- 
ing highways, should be 3s. in the spring, and 
2s. found, in the fall, during the pleasure of 
the town. 

Apiil 7, 1800, a committee was appointed, to 
collect the information requested by the Re- 
verend Mr. Trumbull, for his second volume 
of the History of Connecticut. 

" At the same meeting, 2 dollai's 50 cents 
" was \'oted unto Jesse Hart, for making a cof- 
" fin for Ezekiel Clark." 

" At the same meeting, 7 mills on the doUai' 
" was voted on the present list, payable into 
" the treasury by the first day of April next. 

" Foted, that the town will do something for 
" Major Richardson, towards his expenses in 
" taking care of the boy that shot his hand off. 

" At the same meeting, Captain Bernard, 
" Ezra Scovell, Jonathan Hubbard, esquire, 
" and Oliver Peck, junior, were appointed a 
*' committee, to make full inquiry into the situ- 
" ation of Major Richardson's apprentice, that 
" had his hand wounded, whether tlie town 



J26 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" ought to bear part or all the expense ; and 
" make report to the adjourned meeting, in 
" April next. 

" At the same, was voted, that this town will 
" oppose the petition preferred to the assembly 
" at their last session, by a committee appoint- 
" ed from Middletown, respecting cutting a 
" road through their town. 

" Fotedy and the selectmen are hereby em- 
" powered, to purchase what plank is necessary 
" for the bridges. 

" Jabez Lankton and Seth Goodrich were 
" appointed rate-makers for the year ensuing. 

" 2 cents and 5 mills granted for highway 
" tax. 

" At an adjourned meeting, held on the 27th 
April, 1807, 

" Foted, that the selectmen inspect Solo- 
" mon Squires's bill for keeping Ruth Crow, 
" when unwell ; and allow him something, if they 
" think best. 

" Foted, that the committee formerly appoint- 
" ed to look into Major Richardson's claim on 
" this town, are hereby reappointed for the said 
" service. Esquire North is excused from 
" serving as one of the said committee, and 
" Esquire Hooker is appointed in his room. 

" Foted, that a further tax of three mills on 
*' the dollar is granted to defray the charge of 
" the town, for the present year. 



OP THE imiTED STATES. 



127 



" Fotedy that the selectmen are hereby em- 
" powered to pay what they think is right to Mr. 
" Beckley, as damages, as a compensation for 
" his horse breaking his leg by a bad bridge. 

" Foted, that hogs may run at large, through 
" this year, on their being well yoked, and a 
" good ring in their nose." 

The following is a census of the town of 
Berlin, for the year 1801 : 



Males in parish of Kensington 


380 




Females 


377 




Negroes 


757 


7 


Males in New Britain 


436 




Females 


506 




Negroes 


942 


4 


Males in Worthington 


495 




Females 


497 




Negroes 




U 



992 



2691 22 
Total of Negroes 22 



Total 2713 



128 



TUAVELS THROUGH PART 



There are many persons of great age in Ber- 
lin. The number of poor, relieved by tlie 
town, is not more than four ; and that of all the 
poor or paupers is not more than five. The 
amount of the town taxes for this year is seven- 
ty thousand cents, or seven hundred dohars. 
There are thirteen school districts, each of 
which has a school, within the town. The 
schools have about forty scholars each ; except 
one, which is smaller. Five of the schools are 
in the society or parish of Worthington. The 
church of this society was built in 1774. It is a 
congregational church, and' contains an organ, 
given twelve years since, by a Mr. Jedidiah 
Norton. Organs are not rejected by the con- 
gregationalists ; but, only a very few of their 
churches possess them, on account of their 
cost. The clergyman of this society receives 
four hundred dollars per annum. 

Berlin has become a place of some notoriety, 
paitly on account of a tin- manufactory which has 
been established here. Its founder was one Pa- 
terson, a native of Ireland ; and though it soon fell 
into many hands, it was long confined to Berlin. 
At present, however, the number of its tin-manu- 
facturers is decreasing, many having scattered 
themselves through the towns below, and others 
liaving emigrated to the south wai'd. One of those 
in Berlin employs sixty hands during the summer 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 



129 



season. In the winter, he removes to Philadel- 
phia, for the extension of his trade. The mode 
in which the waives ai'e disposed of is that of 
peddling and barter. They are carried inside 
and outside of small waggons, of a peculiar and 
uniform construction, on journies of great length, 
and are to be met with in all directions. From 
Philadelphia, they cross the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, and are probably seen on the Mississippi. 
They go into Canada, and vend their wares in 
Montreal and Quebec. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Connecticut — Hartford. 

I REACHED Hartford, for the second time, 
on the first of June. Its distance from Berlin is 
twelve miles, on a road exceedingly good, car- 
ried over an undulating surface, clothed with 
wood and pasture. Hartford and Berlin are -on 
one of the direct roads from New York to Bos- 
ton ; and there is an excellent road from Hailford 
to Hudson, a flourishing town on Hudson's ri\'erj 
in the territory of Ne\\- York. 

VOL. I. R 



^30 TRAVELS THROUGH FART 

The situation of Hartford is exceedingly agree- 
able ; the ground is elevated, the streets wide and 
regular, the houses well built, and in some in- 
stances elegant ; particularly a small number, 
which have been built under the direction of 
Colonel Wadsworth, a gentleman who displays 
much architectural taste. In all parts of the 
to\v^l, many of the buildings are of brick. 

The State-house is a respectable building of 
red brick, occupying the centre of a large square, 
or open space. It is somewhat plain in its ex- 
terior, especially that front of the edifice which 
faces the high street ; but that which, from the 
elevation of the ground, overlooks the houses 
that lie toward the river, and commands the 
country on the opposite bank, is adorned with a 
pediment of stone or wood, supported by co- 
lumns, which spring from the basement story. 
From the colonnade, which is on the same floor 
with the chambers appropriated to the members 
or houses of assembly, the view is extensive and 
beautiful, composed of the broad and winding 
stream of the Connecticut, bordered with wide 
and fertile meadows. On the opposite bank is 
East Hartford, formerly a part of the same town. 
The apartments of the state-house are handsome 
and commodious ; and in that appropriated to 
the upper house of assembly is a full-length pic- 
ture of General Washington, copied by Mr. Stu - 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 231^ 

art from his o^vn picture, possessed by the late 
Marquis of Lansdown. Of the picture in the state- 
house, the colours appear to be decaying ; and 
were it otherwise, they must be necessarily seen 
to disadvantage, surrounded, as the picture is, 
with curtains of a scarlet, or else crimson colour — 
for, of which of the two they are, I do not more 
particularly remember. 

A church of large dimensions is building of 
brick, to be called the church of the First So- 
ciety ; and its site is the same with that of the 
former church of that society. The interior pro- 
mises to be very elegant ; and it is to be believed 
that the exterior would have been equally so, but 
for some injudicious deviations from the original 
design, which was by Colonel Wadsworth.* 

This church is in the high- street ; and to the 
north, in the same street, is a church of wood, of 
respectable architecture and dimensions, and or- 
namented with a spire. This belongs to mem- 
bers of the Church of England. In the same 
street, also, is the South Church or Meeting- 
house, already mentioned. 

/ 

* This building has been since finished. Its belfry is 
surmounted by a modern cupola, instead of a spire. 
What is still more modern, and still more worthy of re- 
mark, this puritan church contains a pulpit of which 
the furniture is of green velvet, with cords of green and 
gold, fancifully entwined round the supporting columns, 
J 809. 



J32 TRAVlELS THKOUGH PART 

In other parts of the town are two meeting, 
houses, one belonging to quakers, and the 
other to baptists, more properly called anabap- 
tists. In the western, or champaign part of the 
town, there is a second society or parish, called 
the west, in which there is one presbyterian 
or congregational church 

Hartford is a county-town, and gives its name 
to the county. The city may contain from four 
to five hundred houses, and is included in the 
first society or parish, or what a stranger neces- 
sarily calls the town. The town, however, is six 
miles square.* The city was incorporated in the 

* The danger of attempting torefoi'm this language, 
by substituting townshiji for town, may appear in the 
words of the Duke de la Rochefoucauid-Liancourt, as 
we meet with it in his account of Stonning-town (StO' 
nington) in this state : " Ce township est long de quinze 
" 7nilles sur huit. La ville contient de douze a treize cents 
" Imbitants de tout age." Here,, an English translator^ 
if he should have escaped rendering ville by city, would 
say, " The townshifi is fifteen miles long, by eight broad. 
*< The town contains^ from twelve to thirteen hundred 
souls." But, in the language of New England, the passage 
will stand thus : " The tonirri is fifteen miles long, &c. 
" The village contains from twelve to thirteen hundred 
" souls." The duke should therefore have said, cette 
■ville, and le village. The town, according to the Ameri- 
can Gazetteer, contained, in 1790, six places of public 
worship, and 5,648 inhabitants ; of which numbers, nei- 
ther are too great for an area of a hundred and twenty 



OF THE UOTTED STATES. j3g 

year 1784, and the corporation consists of a 
mayor, aldermen, common-council and free- 
men. 

Hartford is the original chief towTi and seat of 
government of the colony of Connecticut ;*and 
even since the union with that of Newhaven, 
it has still been essentially the metropolis. 

In 1638, when the first public tax was levied 
in the colony, and regularly apportioned among 
the four towns in which the colony then consist- 
ed, Hartford paid the laigest share. The total 
amount was 550/. of which Agawam, now call- 
ed Springfield, and xiow within the territory ol 
Massachusetts, paid /SG 16 

Wethersfield, 124 

Windsor, 158 2 

Hartford, 251 2 Of 



£550 

square miles, and this, from the data afforded by the duke, 
must be nearly the superficial contents of the town. 
See Voyage dans les Etats Unis d'Aineriquc, fait ev 
1795, 1796 et 1797. Tome V, page 129. 

* According to a modern History of New England, 
the first court held in Connecticut was held at Wethers- 
field i but this is erroneous ; it was at Hartford. Sec 
Statutes of Connecticut.^ Holmes's American Annals.^ Trum- 
bulVs History of Connecticut and MS Records of Connec- 
ticut. 
t Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Book I. Ch. vi. 



J34 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

This year, the ratable property of the town 
is valued, in the grand list, at S 122, 540 64 
Windsor, 63,701 74 

Wethersfield, 77,428 50* 

Newhaven, which is in some degree a co-me- 
tropolis, a rank which she owes to her having been 
the capital of the colony to which she gave name, 
while that colony was distinct from the colony 
of Connecticut. The general assembly holds its 
October session at Newhaven. The ratable pro- 
perty of this town, all deductions made, has 
this year amounted to 107,311 dollars and 38 
cents. * "" 

In the town of Hartford there are kept two 
coaches, two phaetons, ten coachees, and three 
other four-wheeled carriages on springs, and one 
hundred and ninety single-horse chairs or chaises, 
of various value. 

Of houses occupied as shops, there are twen- 
t}^-two of three stories, thirty-eight of two, and 
fifty-eight and a half oi one. 

The number of sheep exceeds twelve hun- 
dred. 

* Since 1 638, the geographical magnitude of the three 
to\vns has been greatly reduced ; but I believe that 
each has still within its limits all the settled lands 
which it contained in that year. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. -[35 

Of the progress of wealth, kixury and popula- 
lation, the following number of chaises, and gold 
and silver watches, returned for the town and 
county of Hartford respectively, between the 
years 1796 and 1804, will afford some data. 
They are taken from the archives in the trea- 
surer's office : 

Chaises. Gold Watches. Silver Watches. 

Year. Towii. County. Town. Coitnty. Town. County. 
1796 57 243 28 47 130 524 



1797 


69 


265 


46 


60 


116 


577 


1798 


73 


286 


44 


62 


128 


630 


1799 


77 


309 


43 


77 


143 


676 


1800 


91 


352 


47 


72 


151 


737 


1801 


93 


376 


52 


71 


151 


752 


1802 


101 


422 


56 


76 


144 


758 


1803 


132 


492 


59 


85 


161 


810 


1804 


132 


537 


55 


90 


212 


953' 



Two newspapers are printed weekly in Hart- 
ford, of which one is an adherent of federalism^. 
and the other of its opposite.! The first is call- 
ed the Connecticut Courant, and the second, 
the American Mercury. Mr. Oliver Cook is 
the principal bookseller; and Messrs. Hudson 

* For the number of chaises in the county, and for 
those of the watches in tow-n and county, in this year, 
see Appendix, No. I. 

t There are now three newspapers. The new one, 
called the Connecticut Mirror, and devoted to the fede- 
ral cause, is edited by Theodore Dwight, Esq. 1809. 



J 35 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

and Goodwill the most extensive printers. 
The Connecticut Courant is from their press, 
as are also a handsome edition of the Statutes 
of Connecticut, and Dr, Trumbull's History 
of Connecticut. There ai-e one or two other 
booksellers' shops, or shops where books at 
least ai'e sold. 

There is here, as indeed there very generally 
is, even in the remote societies and towns of the 
state, a public librar}^ This is not a circulating 
library, of which the property is private, but 
common property, and purchased by contribu- 
tion. To speak generally, the number of books, 
in the respective town or societj^-libraries, is 
very small; but they afford, according to a writer, 
whom I have already often quoted, " a suffi- 
" cient collection, in the various branches of 
*' literature, and particularly in sound morality 
" and divinity. These libraries," he continues, 
" are placed under the direction of the best in- 
" formed members of the society, and among 
" them, with great propriety, we always find the 
" minister. Nothing, therefore, that is hurtful 
" to the peace, to regularity, to morals or to 
" religion, ever finds its way into these coUec- 
" tions. Thus guarded, the people have an 
" opportunity of treasuring up much useful 
" knowledge, in addition to the stock gained at 
" school ; and thus of sweetening and enliven - 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



137 



" ing the journey of life, by amusements useful, 
" pleasant and substantial."* 

Besides the ordiniry district- schools, Hartford 
has a grammar-school, endowed out of a legacy 
of 1,324/. bequeathed in the year 1657, by Go- 
vernor Hopkins, " as an encouragement, in these 
" foreign plantations, of bringing up hopeful 
" youths, both at the grammar-school and col- 
" lege." In 1664, this legacy was equally 
divided between the grammar-schools of New- 
haven and Hartford. t 

In one of the upper apartments of the state - 
house is a museum, which the possessor is suf- 
fered to keep there, on condition of giving free 
admittance to the members of the assembly, 
at their several sessions. The collection is 
very small. By favour of the assembly, the 
original charter of Chai'les the Second is tem- 
porarily placed among the rarities. There is 
also a head or bust of stone, of rude Indian 
sculpture. It is a flat stone, exhibiting a 
bust in profile, with an addition of some 
paint about the mouth, cheek and eyes. The 
Indians are wont to help out, with rude 
efforts of ait, any stone or other substance, 
in the natural form of which they discover a 

* Dwight's Oration, page 12. 
t American Universal Geography. Boston, 1805. 
vol.. I. S 



]^38 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

degree of similitude to any figure, as of a limb, 
a human face, or animal body ; and this head, 
in the museum at Hartford, is apparently of this 
original. Such objects, half art and half na- 
ture, are sometimes their idols ; and this may 
once have been an idol. In the museum, there 
is also a meteorological diary, kept at Hartford, 
in the year 1799, in which the greatest heat ap- 
pears to have occurred on the fifth of July, when 
the mercury stood at 95*^ ; and the greatest 
cold on the fifteenth of January, when it was at 
16" below zero. 

The port of Hartford, though it communi- 
cates but inconveniently with the sea, is yet well 
situated for the command of at least a portion of 
the inland trade. Here is the natural place of 
deposit for all the commodities which descend 
the Connecticut ; and from this place, according 
to the speculations of some \vriters, the coun- 
tries on the upper banks are to receive their fo- 
reign commodities : a tract of countr}^, it is 
said, of eight thousand two hundred and forty 
square miles, will probably throw its com- 
merce within a few years into the city of Hart- 
ford. 

But, these expectations, as I believe, are il- 
lusive. If Hartford, or even Middletown, were 
either of them in all strictness the natural empo- 
rium of these countries, still, other causes, of a na 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^39 

turewell adapted to govern the operations of com- 
merce, would probably intervene. The actual 
trade of the uppej: countries is centered either 
in Boston or New York. Their commodities 
descend the Connecticut ; but they are con- 
signed to one or the other of these ports. Bos- 
ton and New York are not only advantageously 
situated as sea-ports, but they possess capital, 
and are able to give credit; and in point of 
fact, the country -trader, on the upper banks of 
the Connecticut, usually owes his commercial 
existence to this credit. With respect to Bos- 
ton, it is to be recollected, that the course of 
the Connecticut is parallel to the coast on which 
she is seated, and at an average distance of lit-^ 
tie more than a hundred miles ; and, on the 
west side of the Green Mountains, the trade is 
powerfully diverted to Hudson's river, and by 
that communication to New York. 

If any port in Connecticut could promise it- 
self to take the place of Boston and New York in 
this regard, that of New London is apparently 
the best entitled so to do ; and its commu- 
nication 'with the Connecticut is short and 
easy. Even New London, however, can scarce- 
ly indulge such a hope ; and it is, in my own ap- 
prehension, more within the sphere of probabi- 
lity, that there shouM one day be cut a canal, be- 
tween Boston and Hartford, or between Boston 



1^40 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

and some other point on the Connecticut, than 
that the commercial visions of Hartford should 
be ever realized. The trade, at present sub- 
bistinc: between Boston and the banks of the 
Connecticut, and further westward, is "prose- 
cuted by land carriage. As to Haitford, she 
must content herself with the increased and in- 
creasing trade of her immediate vicinity. She 
is herself supplied with European merchandise 
fiom Boston and New York. 

To a pottery and an oil-mill, may be added a 
paper-mill, in the list of manufactories in Hart- 
ford. A woollen manufactory was a few years 
ago attempted to be established ; but without 
success. 

Hartford has a bank, incorporated in the year 
1792, of which the capital stock is one hun- 
■ dred thousand dollars, held in two hundred and 
fifty shares, of four hundred dolLu's each, of 
Av hich no person or persons, or body politic and 
corporate, the state of Connecticut excepted, 
ma}^ hold at any time more than thirty shares. 
The bank is authorised to offer annually for sale, 
additional shares, to the amount of fifty thousand 
dollars, till the capital stock shall be five hundred 
thousand dollars. ^ 

In 1800, the city and town of Hartford con- 
tained five thousand three hundred and foity- 
s^cven inhabitants, including slaves. It is said 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



141 



that a register of deaths, kept for ten years suc- 
cessively, in the first society, has exhibited an 
average annual mortality of one for every sixty- 
five inhabitants. 

Negroes and mulattoes ai'e numerous in Hart- 
-ford, of whom some are slaves, but the greater 
part are free. The number of slaves in the 
county of Hartford, in the year 1800, was sixty- 
seven. Of the free negroes and mulattoes, ma- 
ny are honest and industrious, and some earn a 
comfortable living ; but too large a number are 
idle and dissipated. It is to be remembered, in 
extenuation, that in a white community, men 
of their description must always form a separate 
and depressed class, robbed of many of the usual 
hopes and motives that sustain and influence 
others. As to more innocent and elegant hila- 
rities, these people, from the natural cheerful- 
ness of their disposition, indulge in them with 
freedom. They have frequent dances, routs 
and galas ; and I am assured that mistresses of 
families find cards of invitation^ to these gaie- 
ties, addressed to their domestics, and stuck, if not 
in cai'd-racks, at least in plate-racks^ and similar 
aiticles of kitchen-furniture. 

The first English adventurers are said to 
have established themselves here in 1635 ; but 
a Dutch fort, or fortified factory or trading- 
house, had been built near the same spot a short 



J^42 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

time before. Of this fort, called sometimes Fort 
Hope, and sometimes the Hirse of Good Hope, 
some small remains are still visible. The site 
is a point of land, within the city of Hartford, 
called Dutch Point. Of the site of the city, 
or of the town, or perhaps of some minute part 
of the town, the Indian name is said to have 
been Suckiaug.* 

In the year 1640, a purchase was made of 
the Indians, in behalf of Hartford, of Tunxis, a 
tract of land including the present towns of Far- 
mington and Southington, and extending west- 
ward, as it is described, as far as the country of 
the Mohawks ;t that is, to Hudson's river. 
The Indians, at the first settlement of Hartford, 
were very numerous in this town, and in its 
neighbourhood. 

Here, as in Middletown, there is a little river. 
It divides the town, to the southward of the 
State-house ; but though its high and romantic 
bunks have been celebrated, they are no^v lost 
among the houses which sun'ound the bridge. 
Below the bridge is a brewery. 

* Dr. Holmes, American Annals, vol. i. makes this 
word Siickiung ; and he gives the same termination awj' to 
several other Indian names. But he has been misled, 
by errors of copyists, or of the press. 

t Trumbull, Hist. Conn. Book I. chapter vii. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^^c^ 

Pursuing the mai'gin of the river, to where it 
enters the Connecticut, we ai'e led to a pottery, 
and to a horizontal oil-mill, both seated on the lat- 
ter. The ground in this vicinity is still unco- 
vered with buildings, and exhibits some ruicil 
scenery. In returning toward the state-house, 
we meet with the ancient mansion of Mr. Wvl- 
lys, built about the year 1637, for Mr. George 
Wyllys, an English gentleman of fortune, who 
migrated in 1638, and was governor of the 
colony in 1642. The environs of the city 
are all pleasant ; but, toward the water, there 
are some wet grounds, which it is in the care 
of the corporation to drain. 

In the burying-ground, adjoining the first 
church, are the following epitaphs : 

" j4JV Epitaph on Mr. Samuel Stone, deceased 
" ye 61 yeare of his age, July 20, 1663. 

" New England's glory, and her radiant crowne, 

" Was he, who, now, on softest bed of downe, 

" 'Till glorious resurrection-morn appeare, 

" Doth safely, sweetly, sleep in Jesus here : 

" In Nature's solid art, and reasoning well, 

" 'Tis knoAvn beyond compare he did excell ; 

" Errors corrupt, by sinnewous dispute, 

*' He did oppugne, and clearly them confute ; 

" Above all things, he Christ, his lord, preferred : 

'' Hartford, thy richest jewel's here interred." 



J44 TRAVELS THROUGH TART 

The Reverend Mr. Stone was educated at 
Emmanuel College, in the University of Cam- 
bridge, and went to the colonies direct from 
Ens-land. 

To some, it may afford gratification to read 
the inscription, also in this burying- ground, in 
honour of the Reverend Mr. Elhanan Win- 
chester : 

" The General Convention of the Universal 
" Churches^ in memory of their dear departed 
" brother, the Rev. Elhanan JVinchester, erect- 
" ed this monumental stone. He died April 
" l^thy 1797, aged 46 years : 

" 'Twas thine to preach, Avith animated zeal, 
" The glories of the rcstitution-moi*n ; 

" When sin, death, hell, the pow'r of Christ shall feel, 
" And light, life, immortality, be born." 

The last that I shall transcribe affords no 
melegant specimen of that style of epitaph which 
has been called, I think, the complimentary ; nor 
of that versification and sentiment, which have, 
the one a sweetness, and the other a gallantry, 
in some degree peculiar to the age which has 
preceded our own. Other epitaphs of that age 
will be recalled to the reader's memory by the 
present : 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



145 



*' SO fair, so young, so innocent, so sweet, 
" So ripe a judgment, and so fair a wit, 
" Required at least an age in one to meet: 
" In her they met ; but long they could not stay ; 
" 'Twas gold too fine to mix without allay." 

" Mrs. Mary Hamlin^ the virtuous consort 
" of Jabel Hamlin^ esquire^ died Ap. od, 1736, 
' in ye 22d year of her ageJ'^ 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Connecticut — Hartford Poetry. 

IN speaking of the newspapers published in 
Hartford, I did not forget the attention that may 
be due to the exhibitions of genius by which they 
have been occasionally distinguished ; but I 
purposely reserved that head for the substance of 
a separate chapter. 

The exhibitions to which I allude, and of which 
I shall subjoin some examples, are poetical, po- 
litical and sportive. They will be found to 
exhibit, in one direction, a licence of thought, 
from which the reader of taste and judgment 
will unquestionably withhold his applause ; but 
they will also be found to afford some very fu- 

VOL, I. T 



J46 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

vourable specimens of diction, versification and 
happy ridicule. They are generally party pro- 
ductions, and upon their candour and justice 
we are not always called to decide. 

The particular poems, of which I am speak- 
ing, were published from time to time, under 
the uniform title of the Echo ; and it was the 
scheme of their composition to burlesque and 
condemn, as well the language as the senti- 
ments, of the party against which they were di- 
rected ; that is, the party which has directed 
the councils of the country for the last seven or 
eight years. One object, undeniably laudable, 
was that of holding up to derision a taste for 
the bombast and the bathos, veiy prevalent 
among the A^Titers of the United States. In 
relating the simplest daily occurrences, it is 
common to see them using language equally 
lofty and illiterate ; and of such occurrences 
none seems to arouse their unhappy genius 
more decidedly than a thunder-storm. It was a 
narrative of this description, that first, according 
to the authors of the echoes " furnished them, 
" not only with the hint, but with a suitable 
" subject for the commencement of their plan." 
The poems appear to have been written between 
the years 1791 and 1798. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



147 



Of the ridiculous in description, and the 
manner in which it was ridiculed by the echo, 
the following are respectively examples : 
" Boston, July 14, 1791. 

" On Tuesday last, about 4 o'clock, P. M. 
" came on a smart shower of rain, attended \A^ith 
" lightning and thunder, no ways remarkcible. 
" The clouds soon dissipated, and the appear- 
" ance of the azure vault, left trivial hopes of 
" further needful supplies from the uncorked 
" bottles of heaven. In a few moments the ho- 
" rizon was again overshadowed, and an almost 
" impenetrable gloom mantled the face of the 
" skies. The wind frequently shifting from one 
*' point to another, wafted the clouds in various 
" directions, until at last they united in one 
" common centre, and shrouded the visible globe 
" in thick darkness. The attendant lightning, 
" with the accompanying thunder, brought forth 
" from the treasures that embattled elements to 
" a^vful conflict, were extremely vivid, and 
" amazing loud. Those buildings that were 
*' defended by electric rods, appeared to be 
" wrapped in sheets of livid flame, and a flood 
" of the pure fire rolled its burning torrents 
" down them with aWming violence. Themajes- 
" tic roar of disploding thunders, now bursting 
" with a sudden crash, and now \\astingthe runi- 
" bling Echo of their sounds in other lands, 



J48 TRAVELS THROUGH t'ART 

" added indescribable grandeur to the sublime 
" scene. The windows of the upper regions ap- 
" peared as thrown wide open, and the trembling 
" cataract poured impetuous down. More sa- 
" lutary showers, and more needed, have not 
" been experienced this summer. Several pre- 
" vious weeks had exhibited a melancholy sight: 
" the verdure of fields was nearly destroyed ; 
" and the patient husbandman ahnost expe- 
" rienced despair. Two beautiful rainbows, the 
" one existing in its native glories, and the 
" other a splendid reflection of primitive colours, 
" closed the magnificent picture, and presented 
*' to the contemplative mind, the angel of mer- 
" cy, clothed with the brilliance of this irradi- 
" ated arch, and dispensing felicity to assembled 
" worlds. 

" It is not unnatural to expect that the thun- 
" der storm would be attended with some da- 
" mage. We hear a bani belonging to Mr. 
" Wjlhe, of Cambridge, caught fire from the 
" lightning, which entirely consumed the same, 
" together with several tons of hay," &c. 

Hartford.) August 8, 1791. 
ON Tuesday last, great Sol, with piercing eye- 
Pursued his journey through the vaulted sky, 
And in his car effulgent roll'd his way 
Four hours beyond the burning zone of day j 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



149 



When lo ! a cloud, o'ershadowing all the plain, 
From countless pores perspir'd a liquid rain, 
While from its cracks the lightnings made a peep. 
And chit-chat thunders rock'd our fears asleep I 
But, soon the vapoury fog dispers'd in air. 
And left the azure blue-ey'd concave bare ; 
Even the last drop of hope, which dripping skies 
Gave for a moment to our straining eyes, 
Like Boston Ru?n, from heaxen'sjunf: dottleshroke. 
(Lost all the corks,) and vanish'd into smoke. 

But, swift from worlds unknown, a fresh supply 
Of vapour dimm'd the great horizon's eye ; 
The crazy clouds, by shifting zephyrs driven. 
Wafted their courses through the high-arch'd heaven. 
Till pil'd aloft, in one stupendous heap, 
The seen and unseen worlds grew dark, and nature 'gan 

to weep. 
Attendant lightnings stream'd their tails afar. 
And social thunders Avak'd ethereal war, 
From dark deep pockets brought their treasur'd store, 
Embattled elements increas'd the roar — 
Red crinkling fires expended all their force. 
And tumbling rumblings steer'd their headlong coursf^. 
****** 

N. B. At Cambridge town, the self-same day, 
A bai-n was burnt well fiU'd with hay ; 
Some say the lightning turn'd it red ; 
Some say the thunder struck it dead ; 
Some say it made the cattle stare ; 
And some, it kill'd an aged mare ; — 
But we expect the truth to learn. 
From Mr. Wvthc, who own'd the barn. 



150 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Much of the humour of these productions ne- 
cessarily arising out of local and temporary allu- 
sion, to things, persons and events, the extracts, 
capable of giving pleasure to distant readers 
must be limited. It also increases the difficulty 
with myself, that in order to relish the echo, it is 
necessary to give with it the matter echoed ; and 
this done, the extracts become too bulky. In 
the following extract of an echo which appeared 
in March, 1792, there is certainly much spirit. 
The original was an essay, by a Mr. Bmcken- 
ridge, On the Indian War, and began with the 
v\'ords / can easily excuse, &.c. 

I GRANT my pardon to that dreaming clan, 
Who think that Indians have the rights of man ; 
Who deem the dark-skinn'd chiefs, those miscreants 

base ! 
Have souls like ours, and are of human race ; 
And say the scheme so wise, so nobly plann'd. 
For rooting out those serpents from the land, 
To kill their squaws, their children yet vmborn, 
To burn their wigwams, and pull up their corn ; 
By sword and fire to purge the unhallow'd train. 
And kindly send them to a world of pain, 
Is vile, unjust, absurd : — as if our God 
One single thought on Indians e'er bestow'd, 
To them his care extends, or even knew, 
(Before Columbus told him,) where they grew ! 

O could I, pois'd on Observation's wings. 
Point whence the Indian's ruthless temper springs. 



OF THE UXITED STATES. 



151 



That ruthless temper which, like bear unchain'd, 
Is proof to kindness, nor by fear restrain'd ; 
Could that vast knowledge, which my skull contains. 
Once find its passage from my wilder'd brains, 
And spring to view, with recollection fraught, 
Of all I've ever dreamt, or ever thought ; 
Then would I tell of homicides so dire, 
Of tom'hawk, scalping-knife, and torturing fire ; 
Of wicked pole at the Miami town, 
Which Harmar went on purpose to pull doAvn ; 
While, rous'd to pity by the potent strain, 
Humanity herself would grow humane ; 
The soul would shudder, and the cheek turn pale. 
And uncork'd feelings foam like bottled ale I 
Not for those soul-less heathen of the wood, 
But Christian folk of kindred flesh and blood, 
Pity, meek habitant of yonder sky, 
Wipes the full tear-drop from her dewy eye. 
As, from her throne of never fading light. 
O'er western worlds she bends her anxious sight! 
Thy larnbsy Kentucky I claim her darling care, 
Expos'd to all the miseries of war ; 
Unkindly left, without defence or stay. 
To savage wolves a weak unshielded prey ; 
Those savage wolves, in cruelty gro\vn old, 
Who torture prisoners when their blood is cold. 
AH this, — while on our part, so mild and good. 
No one e'er thought of spilling Indian blood ! 

But, we must now turn to passages, of which 
the poetical merit is often not defective, but in 
^\hich there occurs the license already inti- 
mated : it consists in scriptural allusions and 



152 



TRAVELS I'HliOUGH PART 



parodies, of any thing but a serious and reveren- 
tial description, and such as an English public, of 
all ranks, persuasions and morals, will unanimous- 
ly denominate profane. They incessantly recur in 
these productions, and present themselves, not 
as echoes, but as original features. The fol- 
lowing is an example : 

— BUT Liberty cheers up this vale of woe, 
With fallen angels fills the world below, 
Makes us feel tuneful as the toad of even,* 
And bears us jiQose-back\ to the joys of heav'n \ 



Long since, thy gentile sons, O Athens ! paid 
Their pure devotions to the sainted maid, 
Her fane adorn'd with richest spoils of war, 
Andheap'd their off 'rings round her splendid car; 
And, what must yield her goddess-ship delight, 
Four thousand men in chains, (a pretty sight,) 
Around her shrine, with steps sedate and even, 
Solemn as saints who've miss'd the road to heav'n, 
\\\ pairs advanc'd, as Noah's cattle mov'd 
"from the green pastures and the meads they lov'd ;" 
While the good sire, conspicuous at their head, 
Jn Sunday wig, the strange procession led. 
And Shem and Ham and Japhet in a row. 
With goads and cudgels, clos'd the goodly show, 
Sore vex'd at Captain Noah's plan to roam 
And leave their sweethearts and their wives at home, 

" * Commonly called the tree-toad" 
t Picapack. The phrase iu the text is from papoose, a word 
I'}- which, as it is said, some of the ludians mean a child. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 153 

Not relishing a pleasure-voyage with hogs, 
Skunks, toads and rattle-snakes and prairie dogs ; 
Their lives at stake, their property afloat, 
Raw^ hands on board, no compass and no boat ! 

Moses, beholding the land of Canaan, affords 
a simile under which to paint a political oppo- 
nent : 

LIKE Moses on Mount Pisgah's height, 
Through whey and rennet darts his eye. 
And sees new-milk beyond the sky. 

In a word, among other remarkable passages 
of this kind, may be found — " First-born de- 
*' stroyed — Hand-writing on the wall — Ghost 
" of Samuel — Gideon and tlie men of Sue- 
^' coth — Gog and Magog — Levite and hisconcu- 
" bine — Nebuchadnezzar's golden image — 
*' Pharaoh and his plagues — Quails and manna 
" — Darkness in Egypt — Image of Dagon mu- 
" tilated by the ark — Dishite, a word derived 
" from the Hebrew — David and Uriah — Elijah's 
" little cloud — Elijah in the wilderness — 
" Builders of Babel — Balaam's ass — Dispersion 
" at Babel— Burning of Gomorrah — Adam and 
" Eve become tailors — Adam in petticoats." 
Noah's ark is in particular favour ; and the foL 



VOL. I. 



2^54 TllAVELS THROUGH PART 

lowing is a second specimen of its celebration 
in verse : 

THUS, when old Noah op'd his gate. 
And advertis'd to take in freight, 
Swift, at the all-inviting sound, 
All kinds of cattle throng'd around, 
From which the patriarch cull'd the best, 
And let the deluge take the rest. 

Lastly, to hold forth a party of political oppo- 
Hents to contempt, it is insinuated, that at a con- 
vivial meeting, the taveni-bill was left unpaid ; 
and this charge is versified, with the embellish- 
ment of an allusion to Isaiah, ch. Iv. 1. 

AT Wallingford it first broke out. 
And show'd itself in noise and rout ; 
Men grew voracious, ate like swine, 
Drank freely different sorts of nvine, 
O'ercharg'd, and snor'd till break of day, 
Then quitted, but forgot to pay ; 
Following the prophet's sage advice. 
To buy their milk without a firice. 

It is not peculiar, however, to the poets of 
Hartford, nor of Connecticut, to fall into the 
practice of which the evidence is before us. 
Scriptural texts and allusions are used conti- 
mially, throughout the whole of the United 



Of THE UNITED STATES. 



155 



States. It had its origin with the puritans, and 
by them and their descendants it appears to have 
been spread.* So general has it become, that 

*The following bo7i mot has been lately pronounced 
by a Boston critic (Monthly Anthology arid Boston Re- 
■view) to be " no bad specimen of puritanical humour :" 
Dr. Mather, of Boston, one of the early puritans, had 
acquired the reputation of constantly preaching hospi- 
tality, but never practising it. The Reverend Mr. 
Ward, another puritan, settled on the Connecticut, and 
an old chum of the doctor's, resolved on putting the 
unfavourable part of this character to the test, and ac- 
cordingly went to his house in disguise. After being 
reproachfully ordered from the doctor's door, and de- 
nied, one after another, lodging, bread, meat and money, 
" Sir, since," said Ward, " you will not give lodgings, 
" nor money, nor food, nor drink to me, I pray for your 
" advice ; will you direct me to a stew ?" The doctor 
cried out, "Vagrant of all vagrants! the curse of God 
" will fall on thee ; thou art one of the non-elects! Dost 
" thou suppose, villain, I am acquainted with bad houses? 
" What dost thou want at a stew ?" Mr. Ward replied, 
" I am hungry, weary, thirsty, moneyless and almost 
" naked ; and Solomon, the wisest king the Jews ever 
'^ had, tells me and you, that a whore will bring a man to 
" a morsel of bread at the last." Now, Dr. Mather 
suspected a deception, and cried, " Tu es War- 
" donus -vel Diabolus."* Mr. Ward laughed, and the 
doctor took him in and gave him all he wanted ; and 
Mr. Ward preached for the doctor next day, both morn- 
ing and evening. 

* i. e. " Either von aro JFcrd, or ynn arc tlie Devil. 



156 ITIAVELS THROUGH PART 

scarcely the most common-place remark, or the 
most simple narrative, goes to the press without 
aomething- of the kind. If, for example, an 
unusual quantity of fish be taken, every nev\As- 
paper will convey the intelligence under the title 
of the miraculous draught."^ 

In seasoning a jest, or composing a drinking- 
toast, (that favourite exercise of the inventive 
genius of these countries,) scripture, scriptural 
phrase, scripture history, or scripture doctrine, 
is the common resource. Of all this, some ex- 
amples may incidentally present themselves in 
the succeeding pages, but I shall also produce 
a few, in direct illustration. 

At Tormgford, in Connecticut, on the 4th 
of March, 1807, there was drank this senti- 
ment, and in this language, " The state of 
"' Connecticut — may regeneration become ge- 

* An example accidentally presents itself, and at the 
same time enables me to afford the reader some account 
of the sireaked bassjishery on the Connecticut shore : 

SALEM, J^Tovember 30. 
Miraculous draught of fishes. — The streaked bass fishe- 
ries on the Connecticut shore have been as successful as 
those on the baiifcs. On the 9th, 10th, and 11th of this 
month, the number taken in four seines, in Stonington, 
amounted to 40,300. On the 12th, 10,000, and on the 
13th, 18,000; making a grand total of 68,300 bass, which 
averaged at5lb. each, amounts to 341,500lbs. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. ^57 

*' neral, where it is so much preached !" and at 
Wallingford, about the same time, the follow- 
ng : — " Connecticut amongst her sister states in 
' Congress — JLitciJer, son of the mornings 
^ hoTV art thou fallen P'' More recently, some 
of the opposite party took occasion to drink to 
' His Excellency Governor Jonathan Trum- 
' bull — a star in the east — whither wise men 
' may go to learn,'''' — The second toast, as 
appears from a commentator, is " a lamentation 
' over the departed glory of the state, because 
' our representatives in congress voted for Co- 
' lonel Burr, instead of Mr. Jefferson : it might 
' perhaps have been a just subject of lamenta- 
' tion," he adds, " that they were reduced to 
' the necessity of voting for either." The third 
toast is intended in compliment to Governor 
Trumbull, and the whole of New England, (or 
the eastern states,) on occasion of their re- 
spective efforts in resistance of the continuance 
and execution of the celebrated embargo acts. 

In New York, I have seen an electioneering 
hand-bill, proclaiming the great resurrection^ 
and calling the federalists to the last judgment ; 
and, of this jeu d''esprit, the language was a 
cento of scriptural phrases. In Philadelphia, the 
following paragraph was printed in a newspa- 
per, entitled the Aurora, on the day which 
terminated the presidency of General Wash 
ington : — - 



J 53 TltAVELS THROUGH PART 

" ' Lord^ now lettest thou thy servant depart 
" ' in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salva- 
" ' tion,'' was the pious ejaculation of a man who 
" beheld a flood of happiness rushing in upon 
" mankind ; if ever there was a time that would 
" licence the reiteration of the exclamation, that 
" time is now arrived ; for the man who is the 
" source of all the misfortunes of our country, 
" is this day reduced to a level with his fellow- 
" citizens, and is no longer possessed of power 
" to multiply evils upon the United States. If 
" ever there was a period for rejoicing, this is 
" the moment ! Every heart, in unison with the 
" freedom and happiness of the people, ought 
" to beat high with exultation, that the name of 
*•' Washington, from this day, ceases to give cur- 
'' rency to political iniquity, and to legalize cor- 
'' ruption ! A new asra is now opening upon us, 
" an asra that promises much to the people ; for 
" public measures now stand upon their own 
" merits, and nefarious projects can no longer 
" be supported by a name. When a retrospect 
" is taken of the Washington administration, 
'' for eight years, it is a subject of the greatest 
" astonishment, that a single individual could 
*•' have cankered the principles of republicanism 
" in an enlightened people, and should have 
•' carried his designs against the public liberty, 
" so far, as to have put in jeopardy its very ex- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



159 



'' istence ; such, however, are the facts, and 
*' with these staring us in the face, this day 
'* ought to be a jubilee in the United States." 

If we should now inquire into the occasion of 
a practice, which, in England, the most vul- 
gar and least reverent critic will condemn, 
but which, in the United States, is followed 
without ill design, and beheld without reproof, 
we shall find it, not where we should naturally 
seek it, in the public contempt of revealed reli- 
gion, but rather, in what we may venture to call 
a too familiar acquaintance with the Holy Scrip, 
tures, or at least a too limited one with profane 
authors. 

It is the province of the imagination to 
employ itself upon those images which it is the 
province of another faculty of the mind to 
store. It operates by combining, not by creat- 
ing. It takes that which it finds. 

But, the imagination will not alwaj^s be se- 
rious ; and if it sometimes deals in spirituals, it 
will also sometimes deal in seculars. Variet)^ of 
subject, however, insures no variety of image, 
from him whose imagination is directed by a 
single course of study. The best that he can 
do, is to turn and shift his all, and adapt it as well 
as he can to the occasion. It is thus that some 
poor actor, now in tragedy, and now in farce, 
employs his only wig, this moment to command 



]LgQ TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

our gravity, and the next to provoke us to 
laughter. At first, it is set straight on his 
head ; next, it is turned inside out ; and next, 
hind pml before. One moment, the curls fall 
solemn on his shoulder, and another, they dan- 
gle round liis nose. 

But, it is not al^^ays to a limited reading, and 
much less to any extraordmary addiction to the- 
ological reading or study, that we are to attri- 
bute, in the circle of writers referred to, the end- 
less use and abuse of scriptural and pulpit 
image and plii'aseology. Much proceeds from 
habits of quotatioii^ imitation and parody ; ha- 
bits which exist in the most inconceivable ex- 
cess among too many of the writers of tlie 
United States. To use any words that the me- 
mory can be made to supply, rather than to 
task their faculties for original terms and modes 
of expression, is at present their established 
practice : in consequence, they often quote that 
which from being quoted becomes the most 
risibly trivial. The habit is acquired at college, 
and the offenders confirm one another in its 
support. The youth of the passing day may 
fairly offer in his defence, that what he does, is 
done under the example of most of those, to 
whom it is natural he should look up as autho- 
rities in politics, divinity and letters. 

X 



OF THE UNITED STATES. jgj^ 

There is a third source of the evil, and this 
is in false taste ; in a ravenous appetite for the 
figurative ; in a vitiated appetite for tumidity 
and inflation, whether of American or European 
growth. Criticism and practice, in these cases, 
go hand in hand ; and what follies the one 
commits, the other praises. 

Now, a taste for the tumid and inflated, a false 
taste and ravening for the florid and figurative, 
enforce a writer to the temptation of gathering 
up and misapplying that imagery which is met 
with in the Holy Scriptures. His aim is to ag- 
grandize his subject, and he is neither judicious 
nor delicate in the means. 

The last consideration has a relationship, in a 
particular manner local, to a fourth source of 
the evil ; and \vhich fourth source consists in an 
extravagant admiration of political visions, and 
political idols. Of this position, which might 
be sustained by voluminous evidence, other 
chapters than the present will contain some une- 
quivocal proofs. Into the cause, it is not neces- 
saiy to inquire ; but the fact, combined with a 
false taste for the sublime, satisfactorily accounts 
for the impressing of the Holy Scriptures into the 
political service. The Avorship or the god must 
])e exalted, at all risks, and at all expense. 

To this remark, even the imagery in the 
following passage, is subject ; but we have here 

VOL I, X 



162 



TRAVELS THROLTtH PART 



an example, not to censure, but to praise. The 
imagery is scriptural ; but, in its application, 
there is nothing, either of that levity, or that 
extravagance, of which, among other par- 
ticulcirs, we have seen reason to complain. 
It elevates the subject of discourse, but not 
more than it is natural, and therefore allowable in 
a partisan to do. It occurs in an oration, deli- 
vered on a day of rejoicing, on occasion of the 
restoration of commerce, at the termination of 
the embargo : 

*' Commerce, peace, and federalism, are 
" again returning to bless our country. Fedcr- 
" ralism, which has for more than eight years 
" been banished from the ark of the constitu- 
" tion ; and finding no rest to the sole of hei" 
" foot — her nature unchanged by wandering 
" over the dark chaotic mass of a democratic 
*' world — returns at length, a fid lo ! in her 
" mouth an olive branchy^' 

Returning more strictly to the poets of Hart- 
ford, I conclude my chapter with two extracts, 
illustrative at once of their verses and their opi- 
nions. The first is a character of Hartford, which 
they put into the mouth of their enemies ; and 
the second, a character of the state, which they 
utter from their own : 

* Address of D. W. Lewis, Esq. 10th June, 1809, at 
Geneva, in the county of Ontario, New York. 



t)F THE UNITED STATES. 



I. 



163 



HARTFORD I curst corner of the spacious earth 
Where each dire mischief ripens into birth ; 
Whence dark cabals against our statesmen rise 
And spread a black'ning cloud o'er eastern skies : 
Whose impious sons, by decency unsway'd, 
Nor check'd by prudence, nor by fear dismay'd. 
Each solemn thing have turn'd to constant jest, 
From John Monier to Boston's civic feast ; 
From Pokahontas' breed, prime lords of all. 
To Hancock glorious at his Negi'o ball : 
For still proud Echo wakes the tuneful strain. 
And ****** pun, and C****** prints in vain ! 
Hartford! detested more by faction's race, 
Than harden'd sinner hates the call of grace I 
Not more the owl abhors meridian light, 
Not more the generous steed the camel's sight. 
Not more the skulking thief the fatal tree, 
Than faction's brood abhor thy sons and thee ! 

II. 

CONNECTICUT !— thou wond'rous stale. 
Forever firm, forever great 1 
Oft faction here her tool employs, 
And oft we hear a mighty noise, 
That government is full of evil, 
The nation running to the devil— 
The blindest eyes begin to Avink, 
The thickest skulls begin to think. 
The little ones are growing big, 
•* The tail has got on t'other pig ;"~ 



154 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

But when the hour of trial's o'er, 
These short liv'd tempests cease to roar. 
Sedition's vermin sneak from day, 
And all goes on the good old ivay — 
Still the old council keep their seats ; 
Still Avisdom there with honour meets ; 
Still Granger keeps his humble station, 
Just at the tail of nomination ; 
Prepar'd, as seasons come about, 
Once more to slip and tumble out. 

Here, mid the vast and wild uproar, 
Which rends the earth's remotest shore, 
This small, this blest, secluded state, 
Still meets unmov'd the blasts of fate — 
Here justice still extends her sway, 
Here virtue sheds her. blissful ray. 
Churches our villages adorn, 
And infidels are laugh'd to scorn : 
Almighty God, still let us lie, 
Safe as the apple of thine eye ; 
Still, still protect our happy land. 
Within the hollow of thine hand \ 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Connecticut — Theatrical Prohibition. 

THERE is no play-house in Hartford, nor 
in any other place in Connecticut, nor are any 
theatrical shows, where money is received for 
entrance, allowed by law. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^^5 

Wits, however, as it should seem, are destined 
to be wicked, and this, whatever may be the 
amount of their political and even spiritual or- 
thodoxy ; for, about the year 1793, and subse- 
quently, the poets of Hartford appear to have 
made tolerably free with all the ancient notions 
of their countrymen, upon the subject of the 
stage. 

In October, 1791, a town-meeting was held 
in Boston, at which there was a struggle for the 
preservation of the theatre in that metropolis. At 
that meeting, a Mr. Samuel Adams, a gentle- 
man of the anti- federal party, took the part of a 
decided enemy. The friends of the di"ama re- 
fused to hear him ; and this event was indig- 
nantly and most pathetically deplored by one of 
his admirers. But, at Hartford, the part of the 
eulogium which it contained was echoed in tliese 
verses : 

LONG may our souls the fond remembrance firove. 
How, with a bosom crowded full of love, 
To blast a wicked sfage his voice he rear'd 
And yet that thunderiiij^ voice could not be heard '- 
With equal toil, half-burn'd with Etna's heat, 
Thus strives Enceladus to find his feet, 
While o'er his back, convuJs'd with dreadful puin. 
A fiery deluge floats along the plain ; 
Around th' affrighted boobies stand and stare, 
And ask, what dreadful creature timiblcs there ! 



166 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



Was he in fault, that he should wish t' impart 
The smoking feelings of his red-hot heart ? 
Perhaps religion would have cloth'd the song, 
And truth and bombast roll'd the strains along ! 
Thus when th' Old Dragon op'd his mighty mouth 
Out burst a flood of overwhelming froth, 
Down the soft tide three unclean spirits float, 
Like frogs in semblance, and like frogs in note ! 
Was he to blame, when, struck by mighty death, 
He wish'd, by puffing his expiring breath. 
To rase the pillars of a vicious stagey 
And scatter virtue in his holy rage ? 
Thus, Samson, when Dalilah cut his hair, 
Mutter'd and clank'd his fetters in despair. 
When Gaza's nobles fiU'd the spacious court. 
And laugh'd to see the blinded monster's sport ; 
When lo ! the two-legg'd mammoth rais'd his back, 
And doAvn they tumbled with prodigious crack ! 

The passage here echoed, in part, stands in 
prose as follows : 

" You need not wonder that the singular oc- 
" currence of the preceding evening at Faneuil- 
" hall rushed into my mind. Shall Europe hear, 
" Shall our brethren be told, that Samuel Adams 
" rose to speak iJt the midst of his fellow-citi- 
" zens^ and was silenced! 

" That, while others, who were bom but in 
" season to enjoy the blessings, which he eam- 
" ed, were applauded, Samuel Adams could not 
*' be heard. 

" Richly has he earned the right to speak, 
" andi^o be heard P'' 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



16: 



In 1793, a part of the speech of the gover- 
nor of Massachusetts, was thus returned by the 
Hartford echoes : 

LONG since, while Britain, with maternal hand, 
Cheer'd the lov'd offspring- of Columbia's land ; 
Ere proud oppression bade that offspring bmve 
Assert their rights, and scorn the name of slave; 
Ere o'er the world had flown my mob-rais'd fame. 
And George and Britain trembled at my name ; 
This state, (then province,) pass'd, with Avise intent, 
An act, stage-filays^ and such things to prevent: 
You'll find it sirs, among the laws sky blue, 
Made near that time on brooms when witches flew, 
That blessed time, when law kept wide awake, 
Proscribed the faithless, and made quakers quake ; 
And thus, in terms sublime /state the fact, 
Runs the preamble of this /irccious act. 

Both for preventing, and avoiding, all 
Those various evils which would sure befall 
Our sober people, and their sober ways, 
From interludes, and vile theatric plays ; 
To wit, all fiddling, fighting, gaming, raking, 
Swearing profane, high broils, and sabbath breaking. 

This act, so full of wisdom, and so good, 
Has now become a law well understood ; 
Since it has often been confirm'd, you see. 
By many a legislature great as ive. 
Yet, notwithstanding this, some chaps uncivil, 
Grand emissaries of our foe the devil, 
Aliens and foreigners, and actors funny, 
Who less esteem our morals than our money ; 
Even in our holy capital, of late, 
Have dared insult the majesty of state, 



168 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 



And to exhibit publicly propose, 
Stage-plays, and interludes, and heathen shoAVS ; 
Which, in the garb of Tfioral lectures drest, 
Of our good, sober manners make a jest ! 
Yet, so obnoxious to the people's notions, 
So sti-ange, so foreign to their constitutions, 
That well / am convinc'd tliey never go. 
From motives of amusement, to the show ; 
But, like good, honest folks, with mere intent, 
To keep these actors imder some restraint. 

In 1800, however, the general assembly, un- 
mindful of the voice, either of the nymph or 
of her bards, very sternly spoiled their singing ; 
for it passed an act to prevent theatrical shows 
and exhibitionSy of which the following are the 
words of the preamble : " Whereas theatrical 
" entertainments tend to the depravation of man- 
" ners, and impoverishing of the people." 

In the interim, during the prevalence of the 
yellow fever at New York, certain players had 
scandalized the good people of Hartford with 
their presence, their play-bills, and their plays ; 
but whether not in the garb of moral lectures^ 
I have not particularly learned. — The reader has 
probably here something approaching to a com- 
plete histoiy of the stage in Connecticut- 



2 



CHAPTER XV. 

Connecticut — General Assembly — Courts of 
Justice. 

THE general assembly, of which the vernal 
labours were commenced on the election-day, 
was still in session at my return to Hartford. 
The members, and all who were in attendance, 
had their lodgings at the several inns or taverns 
in the city, at one of which I was myself also, 
for a few days, an inmate. 

The system of the table d''hote, or public 
table, is everj'^ where established in the United 
States ; and in this manner we lived at Hartford. 
The assembly adjourned at one o'clock to din- 
ner, and reassembled at the hour of three. 
Cider is the beverage at table, and no wine is 
drank. A member who should neglect his daily 
attendance, either before or after dinner, would 
be thought not to earn what are called his wages. 
These wages amount to two dollars per diem, 
during the sessions ; and each member has a 
further allowance of six cents per mile, for tra- 
velling expenses. The assistants, or members 

VOL. I. y 



IJQ TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

of the upper house receive allowances for their 
attendance. 

When the assembly adjourns for the evenings 
the members and others again seat themselves 
at a long table, covered with a table-cloth, and 
furnished with plates, knives and forks, steaks, 
fish, pickles, sweet-cake, toast and butter, tea, 
cider and coffee, of all of which articles every 
one partakes, and thus makes his supper. At an 
early horn', they retire to bed, in rooms each of 
which contain four, five, or a greater number of 
beds. Next morning, the breakfast-table is spread 
at eight o'clock. The breakfast resembles, in all 
pailiculars, the supper ; excepting that it is cus 
tomaiy, at this meal, to drink coffee, and not tea. 
At nine, a bell summons the assembly-men to 
their seats ; and the lawyers, employed upon 
petitions and other affairs, to the bars of the two 
houses. 

In this manner, certainly to be remarked for 
its simplicity, its frugality, its freedom from 
costlier luxury, and from every species of dissi- 
pation, live the legislators of Connecticut, during 
the period of their meeting in the metropolis of 
the republic. Among the persons with whom, 
under these circumstances, I had a transitory 
acquaintance, ^vere several of those who were 
the most distinguished in Connecticut ; and 
Connecticut is by no means behind-hand in the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. j^yi 

iist of states, in the possession of men of superior 
qualifications. 

In the house of representatives, which I visited 
more than once, I saw ahvays the strictest deco- 
rum and propriet}^ ; and in the upper house, 
when I was present at the hearing of a petition, 
the appearance and proceedings were entirely 
respectable. 

The doors of the upper house are open only 
on such occasions as this which I have men- 
tioned. Its legislative proceedings have always 
the strictest secrecy. No minutes are kept ; no 
arguments nor no votes are made public. The 
council co?iai?'s, or does not concur with the 
house of deputies ; this is all that is known. 
Mutual conferences frequently take place ; but 
this is the only exception to the system ; a sys- 
tem, which, as I believe, contributes, not less 
than other usages which have been mentioned, 
to the stability of this government, or more 
properly of the men and the principles govern- 
ing this government : for the stability of a go- 
vernment is one thing, and the stability of an 
administration is another. 

The effect of preserving an entire secrecy as 
to the proceedings of the fourteen men (the 
governor, lieutenant-governor, and assistants) 
in whom is the veto in all matters of go\'ern- 
ment and legislation, cannot but be considerable. 



172 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

Divide et impera ; but, here, no division can be 
accomplished. The council is impenetrable ; 
it is one ; it has no weak part, by which 
it may be entered and subdued. All its acts 
are the acts of the party ; the individual never 
appears. We know nothing of the display of 
his talents ; nothing of his peculiar shade of sen- 
timent. Nothing is shown to us but unanimity ; 
and whence that unanimity arises we have no 
means of discovery. It may be that all the 
members are of one mind ; it may be that they 
obey one direction ; it may be that there is a 
minority always dissatisfied ; dissatisfied with 
the particular acts of its friends, but overawed 
by the interests of its party. But, it is by as- 
saults upon particular acts and paiticular men, 
upon particular opinions and particular phrases, 
that all parties are in the end stripped of their 
popularity ; for the great principles which dis- 
tinguish them, the entire scope of their actions,, 
are almost always out of the view of the multitude. 
One man is called a fool, and another a knave ; 
an act is called imbecile, or it is called wicked, 
or it turns out unfortunately ; it is these that ruin 
parties ; and there is still another means, and 
that is, individual superiority, individual ambi- 
tion, individual worth or wisdom, vice or folly. 
When individuals are suffered to display them- 
selves at their employment, some discover SikjU, 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



173 



and others deficiency ; some feebleness, and 
some strength : each desires, too, to enjoy his 
own fame and his own reward : he is anxious, 
less for his party, and more for himself. Nov,', 
these are facts, concerning the operation of 
which upon the commonwealth, politicians will 
entertain very different views, every one accord- 
ing to his system. One result, however, is cer- 
tain, that where the individual is out of the 
question, the pail}- is therefore the more safe. 
There can be no divisions among the ruling- 
party in Connecticut ; because the leaders act 
as one head ; divulge no minor disagreements 
that may happen among themselves ; and lose 
all subordinate differences of opinion, in the one 
point upon which they cannot but constantly 
agree ; — the preservation of the part}' . 

Besides the duty of the day, in attending the 
two sittings of the assembly, there is occasionally 
a meeting of a political nature, which is to be 
attended also. The meeting to which I allude is 
in use in all paits of the United States, and is 
denominated a caucus — but why so denominated, 
I have found many to inquire, but none to teach. 
Sometimes, indeed, a desperate attempt is made 
at etymology, or perhaps only at wit, and caucus 
is for a moment derived from Cacus, the Aven- 
tinian robber. As far, however, as I am ac- 
quainted, no etymology at all is ever seriously 



174 



lliAA ELS THROUGH PART 



offered. There is less difficulty as to its appli- 
cation. 

A caucus is a political, and what is in practice 
the same thing, a party- meeting ; but is not a 
popular meeting. It is an informal, and as it were 
unofficial meeting of the representatives in a 
legislature, in which, according to some old 
language, of which I shall presently avail myself 
at length, they " advise and consult of all such 
" things as may concern the good of the public," 
and of what, in their own legislative capacity, it 
may be proper to do. 

As the caucus is a meeting of the representa- 
tives only, so it is a meeting of all the repre- 
sentatives ; or at least, among one body of repre- 
sentatives, there can properly be but one caucus : 
Ave should be mistaken, however, if we supposed 
that it is therefore a general meeting, and not, 
as has been said, a party-meeting. 

A caucus is a meeting of only the majority of 
the legislature, for the minority does not give it 
attendance ; — it has meetings of its own. 

The minority can by no means attend the 
caucus^ because, whatever may be the theory of 
this meeting, its practical intention is simply 
and singly that of devising means for supporting 
the pai'ty of which it is composed, and of mana- 
ging its own affairs. It is in caucuses that it is 
decided, for whom the people shall be instructed 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



175 



to vote, and by what course of politics the party 
may be secured. In them, it is ascertained, 
what the majority of the party will and will not 
do, whom it will and will not support, and what 
sacrifices must be made, to this man and the 
other, in order to keep both upon friendly terms. 
This done, the party, as a party, acts in concert; 
and, on meeting its opponents in public, is pre- 
pared, through a precise knowledge of its own 
strength, to yield to them, or to crush them, as 
occasion may render prudent or needful. 

I have observed that, the caucus is in general 
use in the United States. It appeal's that it is 
no secret, nor no popular nor obscure, assembling 
of persons, but a meeting of those, to whom, in 
the several legislatures, the legislation is entrust- 
ed. In the mean timCj I am not aware that it is 
provided for or acknowledged, any more by the 
existing constitution of any of the states, than 
by that of the United States. The name is in 
general use; but neither the name, nor the 
thing, appears to be known to any statute, or 
public instrument. I have not even found that 
it is any where represented as an ancient, and 
anciently constitutional institution. Yet such it 
is, at least with respect to Connecticut; for, in the 
ninth article of the Constitution of 1639, the 
caucus will be found distinctly described and 
provided for, though without a name, and espe- 



jy5 Travels THROUGH PART 

cially without that felicitous name by which 
it is now distinguished.* It is there " ordered, 
" sentenced, and decreed, that ih^ deputies shall 
'' have power and liberty to appoint a time and 
" place of meeting together, before any general 
" court or assembly, to consult and advise of all 
" such things, as may concern the good of the 
" public." 

2. The caucus is expressly entrusted with the 
examination of the elections of the deputies. It 
is to report upon undue returns to the assembly. 

3. The caucus may impose fines, for disorder- 
ly behaviour during its sittings, or for not coming 
in due time and place according to appointment. 

Whether or not the above be the universal and 
exclusive constitution of the more ancient caucus, 
I cannot pretend to say ; but the modern cau- 
cuses differ from it in many essential particulars. 

The caucus (so to call it) as we see it here, is, 
to the court of legislature or parliament, precise- 
ly what a grand jury is to a court of justice. 
The caucus of the present day devotes itself to 
other business, and in no cases confines its meet- 
ings to a period antecedent to the meeting of the 
court or legislature. t 

* See passim, chap. vii. 
t The followhig is a circulai* letter, for calling a cau- 
cus (here styled a coiivendoii) at Washington. Accord- 
ing to the newspapers, a ludicrous parody, signed by 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES ^yy 

I attended a caucus^ which was held one 
evening in the chamber of the council or upper 
house of assembly ; but nothing was done, and 
almost nothing was said. 

Mr. Masters, a member for New York, was " stuck 
" upon the door of the house, and behind the sfieaker\^ 

" chair." 

'' Sir, 

" In pursuance of the powers vested in me as pre- 
" sident of the late convention of republican members 
" of both houses of congress, I deem it expedient, for 
" the purpose of nominating suitable and proper charac- 
" ters for president and vice-president of the United 
" States at the next presidential election, to call a con- 
" vention of said republican ntiembers, to meet at the 
" senate-chamber, on Saturday the 23d inst. at six o'clock 
*' P. M. at which time and place, your personal attend- 
" ance is requested, to aid the meeting with your in- 
" fluence, information and talents. 

" S. R. BRADLEY. 
" Dated at Washington.^ 
" X'^th January., 1808." 

The above signature is that of General Bradley, .a 
member of the senate of the United States. The object 
of the conventio)i or caucus., was to secure the election 
of Mr. Madison. When it was complained, that a con- 
vention of members of both houses of congress could 
not constitutionally interfere with the election of a presi- 
dent of the United States, it was answered that some 
elections had been managed in the same maunei-. 
VOL. I. Z 



178 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



From the government and the legislature, 
whence the laws proceed, I turn to the courts of 
justice, ^vhere they are administered. The 
courts, for the county of Haitford, are held in 
the lower apartments of the state-house. 

There are three descriptions of courts of 
justice held in Connecticut, under the authority 
of the state, and two under the authority of the 
United States ; of which the territory of this re- 
public composes a district. The courts of the 
United States are a district coiwt^ with a resi- 
dent judge, and a circuit-court^ held by the 
judges of the federate republic. The courts of 
the state are a superior-court^ which performs 
the circuit of the counties ; county -courts^ 
which belong to the counties respectively, and 
which are otherwise called courts of common 
pleas ; and courts of probate, for registering- 
probate of wills and letters of administration, 
and which ai'e fixed in probate-districts. 

A strong disposition prevails, in every one of 
the states, to render the judges of the United 
States removable at the pleasure of the pre^'ail- 
ing party ; for No man, say the lovers of liberty 
in this part of the world, no man ought to hold the 
office of a judge, not being at the same time a 
friend to the measures of the administration. This 
maxim, though avowed in so many words, has 
not yet obtained credit enough to overthrow a 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



179 



contrary provision, inserted in the constitution 
of the United States ; but it is religiously re- 
ceived, as we have seen, in the constitution 
of Connecticut. Here, the ruling party in the 
assembly may " call any court or magistrate, 
" or any other officer or person whatever, for 
" any misdemeanour [which it may please to 
" impute] or male -administration, to account ; 
" and for [what it may call] just cause, may 
" fine, displace or remove them, or deal other- 
" wise^ as the nature of the case shall [to them 
" seem to] require." The judges of the courts 
held under the assembly, are therefore all of the 
ruling party, ]^iean^\'hile, the district- judge, 
who is appointed by the go\erament of the 
United States, is of the party ^^'hich predomi- 
nates in the United States.* 

* In what manner this officer is consequently treated 
by the federalisfs,, may be seen from the following ad- 
vertisement, published in the Connecticut newspapers: 
" Preparing for the press, and will shortly be published, 
" authentic memoirs of the life and character of the Ho- 
" nourable Pierpoint Edwards, judge of the district- 
" court for the district of Connecticut. A faithful history 
" and true character of this singular man is intended. We 
" all know who appointed him to the office of judge over 
" the state of Connecticut. His claims to that office, it is 
'" intended, shall also be known and remembered. A full 
'' and authentic account of his proceedings since he be- 
" came a judge, to this date, is already prepared : and will 
'^ show the world many cz^rzcszVzVs in a court of justice.' 



180 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

The superior court, which is comprized of a 
bench of five judges, is a court of law, equity, 
and errors or appeals, and is held in each county 
twice in each year. 

Each superior or state court is held in each 
county twice in each year, and there is a county- 
court, also held twice in each year. 

The county -court is also a coiut both of law 
and equity, and is also held twice in each year. 
As a court of law, it has power to hear and de- 
termine all civil causes, real, personal or mixed, 
and also ail criminal matters, " not extending to 
" life, limb, banishment, adultery or divorce," 
and where the punishment does not " extend to 
" confinement mNewgatey'* excepting only in 
the crime of horse stealing. In civil cases, where 
the matter in demand does not exceed the value 
of seventy dollars, and where the action is on 
bond or note, given for the payment of money, 
or bills of credit only, vouched by the witnesses, 
the hearing and extenuation of the county-court 
is final ; but causes may be removed into the 
superior court, by writ of error or other cus- 
tomary forms of law. As a court of equity, it 
has jurisdiction in all suits wherein the matter 
or thing in demand does not exceed the sum of 
three hundred and thirty five dollars, and where 
the suit is not for relief against any judgment 
given, or cause depending, in the superior court ; 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ]^g| 

and, within the circuit of its own jurisdiction, it 
may proceed to final judgment and decree, and 
may enforce the same. 

These courts are " kept by a judge, with two 
" or more justices of the quorum, to be appoint- 
" ed and commissioned for that purpose; any 
" three of whom have power to hold them;" 
and with the concurrence of the grand jurors 
in attendance, may impose and cause to be 
collected a town or county-rate^ taxing or rating 
each town according to the lists of estate, for 
paying expenses of the county.* They also ap- 
point the county-treasurer. 

In case of absence, or of just exceptions 
" against the judge, or any of the justices of the 
" quorum," so that there shall not be a suffi- 
cient number for the trial of the cause, the 
quorum may be completed out of the justices 
of thepeace for the county at large. 

In certain cases appeals from decisions of 
justices of the peace, may be carried to the 
county -courts. 

* Yet, in the instance of gaols, the power of taxing the 
inhabitants for building, repairs, 8cc. is given to the " as- 
" sistants and justices of the peace in the several couii- 
'< tics." Stat. Conn. Ixxi. i. sec. 3. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Connecticut — Trial by Jury. 

THE trial by jury is fully established in 
Connecticut ; but this ancient and English 
constitution has been made to undergo several 
modifications. 

1. Grand-jurors and petit- jurors are yearly 
officers, appertaining to the towns. The num- 
ber of petit -jurors, to be chosen by the towns, is 
regulated for each town by statute. Some of 
the towns appear to have the choice of none. 
Some choose twenty, and some only four. The 
numbers are probably regulated in some degree 
by the population. 

.2. The grand-jurors .are chosen in town meet- 
ing. The petit-jurors are chosen by the justices 
of the peace, selectmen, constables, grand-ju- 
rors conjointly. The names of the persons so 
chosen, are the names from which the constable^, 
on receiving, from the clerk of any of the courts, 
a warrant to summon a certain number of jury- 
men, are to draw the names of those that are to 
serve. 

For this purpose, the names are to be kept, 
on separate written papers, in " a box with a 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. i gn 

" lock to it, to be provided at the cost of the 
, " town." The constable is not to see the names 
before he di'aws them. Having drawn, he is to 
issue his summonses accordingly. With respect 
to the courts of the United States, the marshal 
stands in the place of the constable. 

3. When, and when only, a sufficient num- 
ber of petit -jurors, thus constituted and sum- 
moned, do not appear, or when, by reason of 
challenges or by other causes, the number is 
rendered insufficient, then the panel may be filled 
up out " of any good and lawful freeholders of 
" the county, whose names shall be returned by 
" the sheriff." 

4. Each juror is allowed seventy-five cents 
for the trial of each issue, civil or criminal.* 

5. Pending the proceedings on any trial, and 
before the charge is given by the court, no 
care is taken to prevent access to the jurymen. 
The fees of counsel being low, three are very 
commonly employed on each side in every 
cause ; and every counsel is expected to earn his 
money, by making a long speech. Hence, the 
most trifling causes often occupy the courts for 
two and even three days. The courts adjourn 
twice in each day ; and, at each adjournment, 
the jur^'men are restored to perfect liberty. 

* .See Statutes of Connecticut. 



1^34 TUAVELS THROUGH PAIiT 

They discuss in public houses the merits of the 
cause in hand, and hold arguments with plaintiffs 
and defendants, with prosecutors and prosecu- 
ted, and with the friends and partisans of each. 
This custom (if I may rely on the personal in- 
formation of some of the most respectable law- 
yers in Connecticut) has given rise to a new 
employment for the talents of practitioners. 
Sleepy attomies were never of great advantage 
to their clients ; but it has been found that a 
sleeping attorney may be rendered very profit- 
able. 

A sleeping attorney is secretly retained, either 
for a plaintiff or defendant. His business is, 
to secure a lodging in one of the many-bed- 
rooms, which, at the public inns, happen to be 
chiefly occupied by a large part of the jury 
sworn to try the cause ; and into which he is 
freely admitted, because, though an attorney, he 
is supposed to have nothing to do with that 
particular suit. As the honest men, after the 
tandle is put out, renew the debate in 
which, from the time of their leaving court, 
they have been engaged, upon the merits of the 
question before them, they not unfrequently dif- 
fer in opinion, from the want of a little legal 
knowledge. The sleeping attorney suffers 
himself to be kept awake by the argument ; and 
if, being known for an attorney, his opinion is 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



18i 



not expressly asked, at least from time to time 
he modestly bestows it ; and, as he commands a 
greater flow, and greater clearness of expres- 
sion, than most of the others who discuss it, it 
often happens, that that tranquillity of mind, and 
stillness of sound, which are most favourable 
to sleep, are found to be the quickest gained by 
adopting the sleep'mg attorneifs opinion ; an 
opinion Avhich appears to be delivered b)*^ 
one wholly unconcerned. At all CAcnts, he 
is able to impress upon his hearers some lead- 
ing view or maxim, to be made good use of the 
next day ; or, at the very worst, he carries to his 
colleagues the adverse points upon which the 
jury chiefly rest, and against which they may 
consequently direct the >vhole force of their 
attack. 



OL. I. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Connecticut — Taxation. 

EVERY inhabitant^ — (for there is here no 
question as to lawful and unlawful freemen and 
non-freemen)-— every inhabitant (unless by law 
in any case exempted) pays taxes, both civil 
and ecclesiastical, " whereof he does or may re- 
" ceive benefit," and may be compelled there- 
to, if need be, by civil process and distress.* 

The taxes are either state-taxes, county -taxes, 
town-taxes or society-taxes. The society-taxes, 
are either for the support of schools, or for 
that of public worship; and the last are called 
ministerial taxes. 

All these taxes, and which taxes are of local 
application, are direct. The only indirect taxes 
are those levied by the United States, in the form 
of customs and duties on imports and tonnage. 

If a collector of the state-tax becomes a de- 
faulter, the state may recover the amount in de- 

* Statutes, exxxv. i. " All the freeholders" pay taxes 
■American Universal Geograjiliy. 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c, jg- 

fault, by distress against the selectmen of the 
town to which the defaulter belongs ; and if die 
demand be still unsatisfied, it has die same 
remedy against the goods and chattels of the in- 
habitants of the town. The collector, it will be 
remembered, is a town officer, and receives his 
appointment from the town ; and the town, and 
not the individual, is responsible to the state. 

All the direct or local taxes are assessed by 
one rule ; that is, according to the general list 
of polls and ratable property. 

The law requires of the inhabitants of the 
several towTis, that on or before the tenth day of 
September, in each year, they render annually 
to the listers an account or list of all the listable 
polls, and of all listable estate, to them severall} 
belonging, on the twentieth day of August, then 
last past ; to the items of which the listers are to 
add the valuation, either according to a system 
of valuation, by law in certain cases provided, 
or according to their judgment, where no such 
provision is made. 

The listers or assessors are to retain the lists 
in their possession till the last day of Decem- 
ber annually ; and to add a two-fold amount for 
all the ratable property, which, in the interim, 
they may discover to have been omitted by the 
individual rendering the list, giving him 
notice of this proceeding ; and if any doub*. 



|gg TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

arises as to the ownership of property, the opi- 
nion of the listers is to prevail, unless the nega- 
tive be proved. The lister receives half the 
amount added.* The ordinary compensation 
of the listers is twenty-five cents (or a quarter 
of a dollar) for each thousand dollars on their 
list. 

Those who, being residents, render no lists at 
all, are chai'ged four-fold for their whole reported 
property; and for those, who, being non-resi- 
dents, are guilty of any such neglect, the listers are 
to make lists themselves.! 

Sometime in the month of January, the listers 
deliver a toivn-list, or list of the polls and rata- 
ble property of the town, compiled from the lists 
of the inhabitants, and containing every individual 
specification, to the town-clerk. 

On the first day of April, the town- lists are 
transmitted to the comptroller of the public ac- 
counts, together with the sum total of the society- 
taxes. A town, neglecting to send a list, is to 
be " f/oomcc/," that is assessed " at the discre- 
" tion of the general assembly." 

* Statutes, ci. i. 
t Relief is to be obtained only from a bench of two or 
more of the justices of the peace, and three of the se- 
lectmen of the town; or from a majority of the justices 
and selectmen. This authoi'ity may make adate?nentf}. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



189 



This system was made part of the code in 
1650, after having been previously established in 
Massachusetts. It has undergone almost yearly 
revisions. 

The scheme of valuation, established by law, 
affixes the same value to all things of the same de- 
nomination, and which value is much beneath that 
which they would command in the market. Thus, 
every ox or bull is valued at ten dollars ; every 
cow at seven; every acre of ploughland at a dol- 
larand sixty-seven cents ; and every hundreddol- 
lars in bank stocky at no more than three dollars. 

The persons, anciently exempted from the 
poll-tax, were the magistrates and elders of 
churches. In 1672, they were made to include 
die assistants, commissioners, (deputies or repre- 
sentatives,) ministers of the gospel and school- 
masters. In 1702, the disabled, sick and lame 
were exempted. In 1737, justices of the peace 
were deprived of the exemption ; and the gover- 
nor, the deputy- governor, rector, tutors and 
students of Yale College (the latter till the time of 
taking their second degree) were exempted. In 
1793, the sick and lame ceased to be exempted, 
but received other provision ; and in 1794, the 
governor, deputy -governor and assistants were 
made taxable.^- At present, it is provided, that 

* Statutes of Connecticut, page 166. 



190 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



" all ministers of the gospel tliat noAV are or 
" hereafter shall be settled in this state, during 
" their continuance in the ministr}- , shall have 
" all their estates, lying in the same society or 
" town wherein they dwell, and all polls belong- 
" ing to their several families, exempted from 
" being put into the list. And also, the estate 
" of the president of Yale College, for the time 
" being, shall be under the same regulations as 
" the estates of ministers of the gospel ; as also 
"'shall all lands and buildings in this state se- 
" questered to and improved for schools or other 
" public or pious uses;" and" That the polls 
" of the non-commissioned officers and privates 
" of the militia of this state, whether of the in- 
" fantry, cavalry, artillery, guai^ds or independ- 
" ent companies, shall be exempted from the 
" list of polls and ratable estate, during the time 
" of their being liable by law to do duty in their 
" respective companies ; provided, that each 
" person, claiming the benefit of this act, shall 
" produce a certificate from the commanding 
" officer of the company to which he respective- 
" ly belongs, on or before the tenth day of Sep- 
" tember in each year, that he is equipped ac-^ 
" cording to law, and dressed in uniform, and 
" hath performed military duty according to 
" law during the year preceding, or hath been 
" prevented from performing the same by sick- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



191 



'' ness, bodily infirmity or other reasonable 
*' cause." 

Inhabitants, employed for four months in the 
year on board a vessel which is the property of 
an inhabitant, are also exempted from the poll- 
tax, for the year in which they are so employed ; 
and an abatement may be made " from such 
" list of the polls of such persons as are disabled 
" by sickness, lameness or other infirmity, pro- 
*' vided that such abatement shall not exceed 
" one-tenth part of such polls. And the trea- 
*' surer shall not accept or allow any bills of 
" abatement, save only wliere any persons shall 
" be found according to the true meaning of 
" this act to have been really overcharged or 
" wrong-chai'ged, or unless any person chcirged 
*' in said list, is deceased, or sliall have abscond- 
*' ed and departed out of this state before the 
" time limited for the payment of such rate to 
'' the treasurer, and hath not left any estate 
'' whereon the same may be levied." , 

From the town-lists, the treasurer compiles a 
grand list ; and upon the amount of the grand- 
list, the state-tax is levied, at the rate of so much 
on each dollar. The county, town and society 
taxes are levied upon the toA\ n-lists, or parts of 
the grand list. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Connecticut — Taxes and Public Expenditure, 

THE several taxes, taken together, are not 
of inconsiderable amount ; but the state tax is 
very light, the greater part of the expenses of 
government being levied and managed by the 
towns and societies. The state-tax of this year 
is only seven mills on the dollai\ The annual 
charges of the state are of the average amount 
of forty-three or forty-four thousand dollars : 
Salaries of the governor, lieutenant- 
governor and judges, jS 7,684 
Debentures of the general assembly, 16,000 
Debentures of the supreme court of 

errors, 30() 

Expenses of public prosecutions, 3,000 

Expense of Newgate-prison, 3,000 

Charges of paupers and vagrants, 3,000 



^ 32,984 
Contingent expenses, comprehend- 
ing all other charges of govern- 
ment ; such as arrears of old debts, 
grants from the treasury, &c. on 
private petitions, 10,500 

S 43,484 



TRAVELS THROUGH I'ART, &.;. ^g- 

The amount of the other taxes which ha\'e 
been mentioned is dependent, in each particu- 
lar town, county and society, on an infinity 
of peculiar circumstances. In towns newly 
settled, or still settling, roads and bridges are 
serious articles of expense ; and these are com- 
ijionly in all cases the heaviest. 

The denominations of money in the United 
States are dollars^ cents or hundredth parts of 
dollars, and mills or thousandth parts. Dimes 
or tenth parts are mentioned by writers, but 
never enter into accounts. The mill is only 
imaginary. The coins are dollars, and halves, 
and other parts of dollars in silver, and cents 
and half cents in copper. In those parts of the 
United States to which the present pages are 
confined, the dollar is estimated at six shillings 
currency, or as it is now called in the country, 
laxvful money. For this, the ancient phrase is. 
country pay. 



VOL. I. B b 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Connecticut — Statistical and Historical Notes, 

I SHALL here set down a very few notes, 
which it has fallen in my way to collect, relating 
to the hitstory of the population, commerce, 
anrl public expenditure of Connecticut. 

In the year 1692, the number of ratable per- 
sons in the colony was 3,109.* 

In 1756, the number of inhabitants of Con- 
necticut was 130,611; in 1774, it was 197,856; 
the increase, in eighteen years, being 67,245. f 

In 1782, the number was 209,150, the in- 
crease, in eight years, being ll,294.t 

* Trumbull's History of Connecticut, 
t American Universal Geography. In a work, entitled, 
An Account of the European Settlements in America, 
published in London, in the year 1777, there is a 
statement of the population of the New England colo- 
nies, upon which, however, no reliance is to be placed. 
The population of Connecticut is there given at only a 
hundred thousand ; but this estimate, like all the rest, is 
too low. They stand as follows : 

Massachusett's Bay 200,000 

Connecticut 100,000 

Rhode Island 30,000 

NcAv Hampshire 24,000 

Total 554,000 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 



195 



In 1790, it was 237,946 ; the increase in 
eight years being 28,796. The troubles of the 
revolution, and a spirit of emigration, are as- 
signed as the causes of the comparatively small 
increase of the eight years preceding the year 
1782. Subjoined is the census of 1790. 



Counties. 


Total JVb. 
Inhabit. 


.Vo. 
Feimiles. 


Slaves. 


Chief To-wns. 


Hartford, 


38,029 


18,714 


263 


Hartford 


Newhaven 


30,830 


15,258 


433 


Newhaven 


New London 


33,200 


16,478 


586 


CN. London 
I Norwich 


Fairfield 


36,250 


17,541 


797 


^ Fairfield 
\ D anbury 


Windham 


28,921 


14,406 


184 


Windham 


Litchfield 


38,755 


18,909 


233 


Litchfield 


Middlesex 


18,855 


9,632 


221 


C Middlesex 
\ Hdddam 


Tolland 


13,106 


6,510 


47 


Tolland 


Total, eight 


237,946 


117,448 


2,764 





The Account of the European Settlements is now at' 
tributed to the Right Honourable Edmund Burke ; and 
it is to be confessed, that the pen of that great man does 
appear to betray itself in the composition. It were to 
be wished, however, that the charge be removed ; for 
this book adds nothing to his reputation. It is full of the 
most false assertions, and of the most absurd declama- 
tion. Its facts are collected with extreme credulity. 
Raynal is its authority, even upon the aflairs of the En- 
glish colonies; and the representations, and even the sen- 
timents of this writer, as well as of Lafitau and others, 
are translated and transcribed, with the most con- 



196 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



In 1800, the number was 25 1,002; the increase, 
in ten years, being 13,056. This increase is 
still in smaller proportion than that of the eight 
years preceding 1782. The cause is doubt- 
lessly an increased emigration. 

Census for the Year 1800. 



Counties. 


J\'o. 

'I'o-iims. 
1790. 


Inhab. 
1S0(». 


Hartford 
NeAvhaven 


15 
14 


42,147 
32,162 


New London 


11 


34,888 


Fairfield 


14 


38,208 


Windham 
Litchfield 


14 
23 


28,222 
41,214 


Middlesex 


7 


19,874 


Tolland 


9 


14,319 



JSTo. JVo. 
Cluef Totvns. Inhab. Slaves. 
1800. 1800. 



Hartford 
Newhaven 

5 New London 

\ Norwich 

C Fairfield 

^D anbury 
Windham 
Litchfield 

^ Middletown 

\ Haddam 
Tolland 



5,347 
5,157 
5,150 
3,475 
3,735 
3,180 
2,354 
4,215 
5,001 
2,317 
1,638 



67 
236 

209 

275 

35 
47 

72 

9 



Total 



8 107 251,002 



950 



temptible servility. In some places, the translation 
being bad, the sentiment is spoiled, and the argument 
made absurd. 

There is another view in which it is not less censurable. 
It is a party book ; and, in the true spirit of party, the 
author yields the most implicit belief to every thing that 
can assist his cause. He aims at vilifying the colonial 
administration of Great Britain ; and, by way of con- 
trast, he is so unfortunate as to fix upon the colonial ad- 
ministration of France, (and of France too in Canada !) 
as an object of admiration ! 



OF THE UNITED STATES. -^gj 

The number of slaves, in 1790, was 2,764; 
and in 1800, 951 ; the decrease, in ten years, 
being 1,613, or nearly two-thirds of the whole. 

In 1792, the amount of the grand list was 
;C183,159 * 

Before the separation from Great Britain, the 
ordinary annual expences of the government fell 
short of ;^4,000 currency. f 

In 1787, the amount of the grand list was 
^1,533,867 18 5 3-4 
Sum total of the single 

list, ^1,484,901 4 6 3-4 

Assessments, 47,790 2 9 

One quarter of the four- folds 1,176 9 4 



Total ^1,533,867 18 5 3-4J 

By assessments is meant those particular as- 
sessments which are made by the listers or by 
the general assembly, in consequence of indivi- 
duals, or of towns. 

* TrumbuWs History of Connecticut. — For a statistical 
view of Connecticut, in the year 1713, see the same 
work, Book I. chap, xviii. and for a variety of statistical 
information regardinsj each particular town, in the year 
1 807, see the Appendix to this work, No. T. 

t American Universal Geography. 
\ American Gazetteer. 



198 



TllAVELS THROUGH PART 



In 1774, the annual value of the 
exported produce of Connecticut, was 
estimated at ;^200,000 

currency. 

In the year ending September 
30th, 1791, the amount of exports 
to foreign parts (those to the differ- 
ent parts of the United States being 
excluded) was 710,340 

In the year 1792, 749,925 

In the year 1793, 770,239 

In the year 1794, 806,746 

In the year 1800, 1,114,743 

The following particulars ai*e from papers laid 
©n the table of congress : 

In the year ending the 30th of 
September, 1790, 30,616 79-95 
tons of shipping belonging to the 
United States, entered the ports of 
Connecticut, on which the duties 
arising amounted to SI, 83 7 

Of English shipping, 2,556 tons. 
Duties 1,278 

Of all other countries, 7WJie. 



Total !g3,115 

Tons of shipping of the United 
States 30,616 79-95 

Tons of English shipping 2,556 

Total of tons 33,172 79-95 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 1^99 

The amount of tonnage this year, employed by 
Connecticut in the coasting trade, was 6,330.* 

In the year 1791, In 1795. 

the net amount of 
monies for duties on 
imports, tonnage, 
fines, penahies and 
forfeitures, received 
for the treasury of 
the United States by 
the collector of the 
customs in Connec- 
ticut, Avas S94,048 61 105,283 21 

The expense on 
collecting the reve- 
nue, was 5,938 9 18,052 6 

Allowance by the 
United States to ves- 
sels employed in the 

fisheries 1,793 34 

* Total of the Tonnage of the United States. 

Tons. Tofis. 

American vessels em- 

ployed in the foreign trade 363,093 40-95 i 

American coasters, abov£ / 502 526 40-95 

20tons 113,181 \ 

Ditto on the Fisheries 26,252 

Total foreign tonnage 262,913 57-95 

United States and British 312 1-2 

Ditto and other foreign 338 2-3 



Total 766,091 16-9S 



2Q0 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

1791. 1795. 

Bounties on salted 

fish and provisions 

exported 2,028 17 2,078 08 

Drawbacks on do- 
mestic distilled li- 
quors exported 194 34 871 91 

Drawbacks on fo- 
reign merchandise 
exported 32 67 155 16 

Fines, penalties 
and forfeitures 10 

Duties on ton- 
nage 2,461 95 1-2 1,404 35 

Duties on mer- 
chandise 99,780 74 1-2 116,819 41 

In the yeai' 1792, 103,644 gal- 
lons of spirituous liquors were 
distilled from foreign materials, 
and 11,639 from domestic; ma- 
king a total of 115,283 

The duties on spirits removed 
amounted in gross to S13,194 86 1-2 

Nett amount, 12,997 32 

In the year 1792, the amount 
of duties on spirituous liquors, 
distilled in Connecticut, was 3,460 38 

On country stills, 787 94 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 201 

But these duties are no longer 
exacted. 

In 1803, when a direct tax or 
subsidy of two millions of dollars 
was required by an act of con- 
gress, the quota of Connecticut 
amounted to 129,767 

The consequent assessment in 
the state was 130,186 14* 

* The quotas and assessments on the respective states 
were severally as follows : 



STATE. 


of Congress. 


Assessment. 




D. 


C. 


M. 


D. C. M. 


New Hampshire 


77,705 


36 


2 


77,850 


Massachusetts 


260,435 


31 


2 


261,128 49 


Rhode Island 


37,502 


08 




37,393 31 4 


Connecticut 


129,767 





2 


130,186 14 7 


Vermont, 


46,864 


18 


7 


46,932 11 


New York, 


181,680 


70 


9 


182,267 27 


New Jersey, 


98,387 


25 


3 


98,226 10 


Pennsylvania, 


237,177 


72 


7 


237,700 56 9 


Delaware, 


30,430 


79 


2 


30,309 90 


Maryland, 


152,599 


95 


4 


153,901 96 


Virginia, 


345,488 


66 


5 


349,900 30 


Kentucky, 


37,643 


99 


7 


38,166 44 8 


Tennessee, 


18,806 


38 


o 


18,770 15 5 


North Carolina, 


193,697 


96 


5 


192,697 96 5 




1,848,187 


38 


6 


1,855,430 72 8 


South Carolina, 


112,997 


73 


9 




Georgia, 


38,814 


87 


5 






2,000,000 


00 






VOL. r. 


C. C 









CHAPTER XX. 

Connecticut — IVindsor. 

FROM Hartford, I turned toward the north- 
west comer of this territory, purposing to 
make a stage in the neighbourhood of the state- 
prison, a romantic sort of estabhshment, of 
which however all the romance will vanish from 
the reader's mind, when he learns its name. 
My road lay through Windsor, the town which 
adjoins Hartford on the north, and which has 
already been mentioned as one of the three an- 
cient settlements. 

A few miles brought me to a river that de- 
serves a better fate than to be known, as known 
it is, by no other appellation than JFindsor- 
ferry river. It is a beautiful stream, which, 
rising on the frontier of Massachusetts, among 
the mountains of the Western Range, called in 
Vermont the Green Mountains, descends, by 
a south-east course, towards the valley of the 
Connecticut, but unable to find an opening, 
through a range of hills which lie on the west- 
ward of that valley, it forms an abrupt elbow, 
and then travels far to the northward. At length, 
from a spot, called Pickerel Cove or Fishing 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 2()3 

Cove, it again flows to the south-east,' turning 
as abruptly as before, and, at the end of many 
\v indings, at length finds an outlet. On its way 
through New Hartford, which is a town on the 
upper pait of its course, it passes a spot call- 
ed Satan's Kingdom. In Farmington, a 
small river, there called the Little Poqua- 
bock, and higher up called Cambridge ri- 
\ er, unites itself with this ; and at Pickerel 
Cove another, called Salmon-brook, becomes a 
second principal tributar\\ This river is some- 
times called Farmington river, tlii'ough all its 
course, and sometimes as far as where it 
first turns to the north ; and below this, some- 
times Little river, but more strictly Windsor- 
ferry river. It was once perhaps called the Po- 
(juabock. It might be elegantly called the 
Tunxis ; for it is through a fine and fertile por- 
tion of the ancient Tunxis that it flows. 

At the site of the ferry, a wooden bridge has 
been erected ; but the floods, in the spring, had 
materially damaged this, as well as several other 
bridges. The river passed, when I saw it, at 
the bottom of banks of fifteen or twenty feet in 
height, and was about thirty yards in ^vi(llh. 
The banks consist in a sandy loam. 

On the north bank, it had been recommended 
to me to inquire for Plymouth Meadow, a point 
of land, at the confluence of the two rivers, on 
which the first English adventurers obtained an 



204 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

establishment ; the date of their arrival being 
1633. 

As I had been taught to expect, I found an 
obliging guide in Colonel Mather, the present 
owner of the soil. The meadow is annually 
covered with water, to a considerable height, a 
cuxumstance respecting which the tradition re- 
mains, that the Indians ga^^e warning to the 
English. The point of land, however, being 
somewhat elevated, the warning was disregard- 
ed. Plymouth House was set upon the point, 
and no feai"s were entertained. In the spring, 
the water flowed suddenly over the low ground, 
between the point and the lands on which the In- 
dians, more experienced, lived. The English 
were presently insulated ; and, the floods conti- 
nuing to rise, their situation would have become 
desperate, but for the timely assistance of the 
Indians, who brought them off in their canoes. 

Plymouth House was all that the English 
owned in Windsor at this time. The towii was 
settled in 1636, and then called Dorchester; but 
very shortly after received the name of Windsor. 
Its ancient limits comprehended not only what is 
still called Windsor, but also East Windsor, 
which is on the opposite bank of the Connecti- 
cut ; and Ellington, which lies still further to 
the east. East and West Windsor were divided 
about the year 1661, at the conclusion of the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



20; 



French war. The first settlers, for the most 
part, were originally from Lancaster ; there are 
many Irish families, particularly in that division 
now called Ellington. 

Windsor is divided into three societies or pa- 
rishes, of which that called Wintownbury is in 
the west, the Irish or united society in the east, 
and Pauquonuc in the north. 

The first society was united in 1686, b}' the 
Reverend Mr. Samuel Mather, whose great 
grandson is the present Colonel Mather. It was 
divided again in 1754, but reunited in 1793. 

The town supports about six or seven poor, 
and gives some assistance to about fifteen more. 
As in the other towns, a bargain is made by auc- 
tion for their relief ; and the annual cost, on an 
average of some years, is three hundred dollars. 



1/ 



CHAPTER XXL 

Connecticut — Newgate Py-'tson, 

THE reader is forewarned, that he has to ti'avel 
>vith me, either in fact or in name, over the 
whole peopled earth. He must express no 
surprise, therefore, at any thing which may 
appear at the head of my chapters, or else- 
^\here. 

The state -prison, my design of visiting which 
has been mentioned, is situate on West Moun- 
tain. It is in the town of Granb}^ but its o\\ n 
name is Newgate. Granby adjoins Windsor on 
the M^est, and was once a part of Simsbury. 

The road, after again crossing, at a ford, the 
Windsor-ferry river, leads to the mountains 
^vhich confine the stream, in its retrogade journey 
to the northward. I was obliged to go to a ford, 
on account of the damage done hy the floods to 
a second bridge. The weather was now exceed- 
ingly fine, and the country alternately rich w ith 
pasture, and wild widi rocks and hills. The sun 
was declining in the west, and spreadmg every- 
where his ,e^ ening glories. 



TRAVELS TllliOU^lI PAltT, kc 



20' 



The approach of evening, howcAcr, gave me 
one ground of disquiet. I was advancing to a 
gaol, and that gaol, a NeM^g-ate. Undeceived as to 
the first idea which presented itself, that this 
Newgate must be in the midst of some popul(3'as 
neighbourhood, I was scarcely better pleased 
when I discovered, that it stood almost in a soli- 
tude of wood and mountains. My wish was 
to see it, and yet go further the same night ; but 
I learned that there was no inn near it, except 
one, which I thought too near ; — for it was at the 
gate. Things, however, being thus, I resigned 
myself to their control, and proceeded to the 
gaol of Newgate. 

Ascending, by a rocky road, the western side 
of the mountain, I discovered at length the 
walls of the prison, rising gray upon the 
brow. On the east, the road was skirted, 
at a small distance, by lofty and precipitous 
craggs, and on the west lay extensive A"alle3\s, 
with mountains in the distance. 

The prison- walls were by the road side, on the 
left ; on the right, and immediately opposite the 
gate, I saw a house of respectable figure and di- 
mensions, wooden and white painted. This was 
the inn ; on reaching the door of which, I sa^v 
a few men, two or three of whom were in mili- 
taiy uniform, engaged at skittk-.s. or in some 
such recreation. 



^Q3 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

On entering the house, the good looks of the 
landlord afforded me some consolation ; and 
this was the more important, as I had not arri- 
ved at the hour of the day proper for visiting 
the gaol. The men in uniform were a part of 
a military guard attached to the establishment, 
but at this time off duty. They, as well as che 
rest, presently relinquished their game, and se- 
parated ; and I found myself, for the remainder 
of the evening, in a quiet farm-house, where I 
was myself tlie only guest. 

My landlord was a plain and industrious 
farmer, in whom and in whose family there was 
realized, more than in any other instance that I 
have happened to meet with, the picture, which 
the imagination of so many has di'awn, as that 
of the agricultural life in America. He was 
himself a grandfather, and he had living with 
him, in his house, his very aged mother. He 
was the father of nine children, of whom one or 
two were married and settled at a distance ; one 
or two, in his immediate neighbourhood ; and 
two daughters, and two or three sons, were still 
under his roof. All the members of the family 
were personable and well -featured ; and the two 
girls were beauties, one a blue-eyed blonde, and 
the other a dark -haired brunette. I found them 
employed, in a building detached from the 
house, the one at the wheel, and the other at the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 209 

loom. They were presently afterward in the 
farm-yard, milking the cows. It is generally 
said in Connecticut, but with what justice I am 
not otherwise able to represent, that the inhabi- 
tants of the mountainous paits, and generally 
those that are not seated on the fertile meads 
which border the Connecticut, compose the 
more industrious and more sober part of the 
community. 

This family appeared to possess much of what 
is called rural simplicity, a phrase, like the thing 
which it represents, of the growth of tlie old 
world, and rarely to be met with in these parts of 
the new. On one subject, however, the credu- 
lity which I discovered in my landlord and his 
neighbours, in no respect distinguished them 
from the mass of the humbler classes of their 
fellow-countrymen : it was that of reposing confi- 
dence in the skill of certain persons to discover 
money and metals buried or concealed in the 
earth. I was assured, that there was to be 
found in the surrounding hills, a black stone, of 
a certain species, through which a seventh son 
of a seventh son, bom in the month of February, 
with a caul on his head, can discern every thing 
that lies in the depths and interior of the globe. 

The prisoners in the gaol are kept to hard la- 
bour at smiths' work, within the walls ; and their 
task, which ends at four o'clock in the after- 

voL. I. n d 



210 TliAVELS THROUGH PART 

noon, commences at four o'clock in the m.orn- 
ing. My landlord recommended that I should 
witness their first appearance in the morning, and 
I followed his advice. 

It is the plan of this establishment to make it 
an object of terror. Several of the higher 
crimes aie punished by confinement in this 
place for life ; while, for lesser, the duration is 
limited to certain terms of yeais. While con- 
fined, however, every prisoner partakes of the 
common fate. 

On being admitted into the gaol-yard, I found 
a sentry under arms within the gate, and eight 
soldiers drawn up in a line, in front of the gaoler's 
house. A bell, summoning the prisoners to 
work, had already rung ; and in a few moments 
they began to make their appearance. 

They came in irregular numbers, sometimes 
two or three together, and sometimes a single 
one alone ; but, whenever one or more were 
about to cross the yard to the smithy, the sol- 
diers were ordered to present, in readiness to fire. 
The prisoners were heavily ironed, and secured 
both by hand-cuffs and fetters ; and, being there- 
fore unable to walk, could only make their way 
by a sort of jump or a hop. On entering the 
smithy, some went to the sides of the forges, 
where collars, dependent by iron chams from the 
roof, were fastened round their necks, and others 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 2II 

were chained in pairs to wheelbaiTovvs. The 
number of prisoners was about forty ; and 
\vhen tliey were all disposed of, in the manner 
described, sentries M^ere placed within the build- 
ing which contained them. After viewing thus 
far the economy of this prison, I left it, propo- 
sing to visit the cells at a later hour. 

This establishment, as I have said, is designed 
to be, from all its arrangements, an object of 
terror ; and every thing is accordingly contri- 
ved, to make the life endured in it as burden- 
some and miserable as possible. 

In conformity with this idea, the place chosen 
for the prison is no otlier than the mouth 
of a forsaken copper-mine, of which the exca- 
vations are employed for cells. They are de- 
scended by a shaft, which is secured by a trap- 
door, within the prison-house, or gaoler's house, 
which stands upon the mine. 

The trap-door being lifted up, I went down an 
iron ladder, perpendicularly fixed, to the depth 
of about fifty feet. From the foot of the lad- 
der, a rough, nairow and low passage descends 
still deeper, till it terminates at a well of clear 
Avater, over which is an air-shaft, seventy feet in 
height, and guarded at its mouth, which is 
within the gaol-yard, by a hatch of iron. The 
cells are near the well, but at diiferent depths, 
l^eneath the surface, none perhaps exceeding 



212 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

sixty feet. They are small, rugged, and accommo 
dated only with wooden births, and some straw. 

The straw was wet, and there was much hu- 
midity in every part of this obscure region ; but 
I was assured I ought to attribute this only to 
the remarkable wetness of the season; that the 
cells were in general dry, and that they were 
not found unfavourable to the health of the 
prisoners. 

Into these cells the prisoners are dismissed at 
four o'clock in the afternoon, every day without 
exception, and at all seasons of the year. They 
descend in their fetters and hand- cuffs ; and at 
four o'clock in the morning they ascend the iron 
ladder, climbing it as w^ell they can, by the aid 
of their fettered limbs. It is to be observed 
that no vromen are confined here ; the law pro- 
viding, that female convicts, guilty of crimes for 
Miiich men are to be confined in Newgate-prison, 
are to be sent only to the county-gaols. 

Going again into the workshop or smithy, I 
found the attendants of the prison delivering 
pickled pork for the dinner of the prisoners. 
Pieces were given separately to the parties at each 
forge. They were tlirowTi upon the floor, and 
left to^ be washed and boiled in the water used 
for cooling the iron wrought at the forges. Meat 
had been distributed in like manner for break- 
fast. The food of the prison is regulated for 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



213 



€ach day in the week ; and consists in an alter- 
nation of pork, beef, and peas, with which last 
no flesh meat is allowed. 

Besides the caverns or excavations below, 
and the gaoler's house above, there are other 
apartments prepared for the prisoners, and par- 
ticularly a hospital, of which the neatness and 
airiness afford a strong contrast to the other 
parts of the prison. It was also satisfactory to 
find that in this hospital there were no sick. 

Such is the seat and the scene of punish- 
ment, provided by Connecticut, for criminals, 
not guilty of murder, treason, or either of a few 
other capital offences. What judgment the rea- 
der will pass upon it, I do not venture to antici- 
pate ; but, for myself, I cannot get rid of the im- 
pression, that without any extraordinary cruelty 
in its actual operation, there is something verjr 
like cruelty in the device and design. 

Be this, however, as it may, the idea was not 
diminished in my mind, by an anecdote that 
I learned, and that belongs to the histor}'' 
of the government of the prison ; which govem- 
is exercised by overseers, appointed from 
time to time by the general assembly. 

A prisoner in this gaol, (and Avho happened to 
be the leader of those robbers whom I have for- 
merly mentioned, as inliabiting the mountains 
near Middletown,) resorted to the artifice, not 



214 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

altogether without example, of maiming him- 
self, for the purpose of escaping from labour. 
The use of one hand, however, was still left 
him ; and, by employing this, the overseers 
defeated his project. They set up, in the 
gaol -yard, a vessel like the hopper of a mill, 
with a small aperture at the bottom ; and, chain- 
ing him to this, compelled him, during fhe 
usual hours, to attempt to fill it with sand. 
This device, borrowed from the fable of the 
daughters of Danaus, was ingeniously applied ; 
but ingenuity in afflicting even a convict will 
never be reckoned among the virtues. — As to the 
subterranean cells in this prison, they are ra- 
ther adapted to convey horror to a transitory 
visitor, than to occasion any particular misery 
to those who become their inhabitants. A hu- 
mane visitor will console himself with this re- 
flection ; but he will still call in question the rec- 
titude of the persons by whom those inhabitants 
are placed there under a very different intention. 
Every circumstance of pain that is pointed out 
to him, every ragged projection in the walls, 
every broken and dangerous part of the de- 
scent ; the black mud that soils his clothes ; the 
narrowness and obscurity of the cells ; all will 
rather offend his judgment, than amuse his 
fancv. He will never be able to understand. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



215 



that good men can occupy themselves iii the 
invention of circumstances of distress, 

sights of woe, 



Regions of sorrow, dolefvil shades, where peace 
Aiid rest can never dwell ; hope never comes, 
That comes to all I 

But, though no large addition may be made 
to the misery of the prisoner, it does not fol- 
low that nothing is added to his depravit}^ 
Prisoners in this gaol are treated precisely as 
tigers are treated in a menagerie ; and if the 
minds of men are influenced by education, ihen 
the education of a tiger may be expected to 
make a tiger of the man. From all persons in 
and about the gaol, you hear of nothing but the 
ferocious disposition of the prisoners, and of 
the continual fear in which they keep their 
keepers. Now, nothing ought less to excite 
our surprise than this. Every thing that human 
art can do, is in this instance done, to brutify 
and inflame the victim ; and what more natural, 
than that this being done, he should in his own 
turn become an object of alarm, to those by 
u hom he is brutified and inflamed ? 

If we should coolly ask, with what view this 
system is supported, we must be answered, either 
that it is to reform, or it is to punish. If it be 
to reform, it is one of the weakest of all human 
projects ; if to punish, it is one of the most 



216 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

barbarous. Lawgivers, too humane to rob male- 
factors of life, can yet plan to rob them of all 
the enjoyments and all the hopes of life ; can see 
them wear out their days and nights in long 
protracted suffering ; can do all, that in them 
lies, either to deprive their victims of human 
faculties, here rendered useless to the possessor, 
or to turn those faculties into the sole direction 
of malice and ferocity ; malice against the au- 
thors of their misery, and ferocity in their schemes 
of liberty and vengeance ! 

One material defect seems undeniable. It is 
inconsistent with common prudence to confine 
those, whose imprisonment is only for a term of 
years, together with those who are to be impri- 
soned for life. There can be nothing conceiv- 
ed, too full of violence, too daring or too wicked, 
for the minds of men placed in the situation of 
the latter ; and such as for seven, for four- 
teen years or more, have been their associates,- 
can be scarcely fit to be trusted into society 
again. I am assured that those, who have been 
once confined in this gaol, are commonly brought 
back at no long interval. If it is replied, that this 
frequently happens at all gaols, the fact, that 
it happens here, may at least authorise us to be- 
lieve, that there is nothing peculiarly beneficial 
in the system, nor in all the waste of cruelty, or 
attempt at cruelty, which distinguishes it. 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 217 

So strong is the fear entertained, of violence 
on the part of the prisoners or of their friends, 
that the overseers are invested by law with the 
extraordinary power of seizing and " confining 
" in the caverns, till they can be otherwise dis- 
" posed of according to law, spectators and 
" others who shall be found lurking without 
" the pickets." Pickets formerly supplied the 
place of the present walls. The militaiy 
guard consists in ten privates and three officers. 
Their regimentals ai-e blue ; and they compose 
the whole of the regulai' army of Connecticut. 

What is further enacted betrays some of the 
peculiarities of the legislation received in the 
United States : " ^<? it further enacted^ That 
" at the expiration of the term of confinement 
" for which any prisoner is, or shall be senten- 
" ced to Newgate-prison, if it appear by the 
" warrant of commitment, that he is ordered to 
" stand committed until the cost be paid, and 
" such prisoner shall not be able to pay the 
" cost, or to secure the same, to the acceptance 
" of the overseers of said prison, in such case, 
" the overseers are hereby authorised and em- 
" powered to assign such prisoner in service, to 
" some inhabitant of this state, or of any of the 
" United States, for such term as they shall 
" judge necessaiy, to pay such cost, taking rea- 
" sonable security of such inhabitant to pay the 

\''0L I. EC 



218 TliAA'ELS THUOUGH PART, kc 

" same to the state ; but if no suitable person 
" appear to take in service such prisoner, the 
" overseers may direct the master of the prison 
*' to hold him in service, vi^ithin said prison, and 
" for such term as may be limited by the over- 
" seers to pay such cost ; who are directed to 
" allow such prisoner, customary journeyman's 
" wages for like services ; and the master of the 
" prison shall have power to confine such pri- 
" soner at his labour, so far as the safe keeping 
" of the prisoners in general may demand. But 
" if such prisoner shall be unable to labour, the 
" overseers, first taking the best security for the 
*•' cost that may be obtained, shall order the 
" master to discharge liim. £e it further en- 
" acted^ That if any prisoner shall make his 
" escape from said prison and shall be retaken, 
" and recommitted, the necessary expense of 
" pursuit and recommitment, to be allowed by 
" the overseers, shall be paid and satisfied by 
" such prisoner, as is herein provided for the 
" payment of origmal bills of cost, taxed by 
" the court ; and the overseers shall dispose of 
" such prisoner accordingly." 

The annual cost of this prison to the 
state has already appeared to be about three 
thousand dollars. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Connecticut — Cajiton — Canaan — Hartland — 
Colebrook — Norfolk. 

BEFORE I quitted my inn at the prison-gate, 
I ascended the rocky ridge which rises to the 
westward of the prison, and at the foot of which 
my landlord had at least the home-fields of his 
farm. The interval is a hollow, divided through 
its middle by a brook, or rather by the channel of 
a mountain-stream. Toward the summit the 
sides of the rocks, are peq^endicular; and it was 
only by the aid of fragments and fissures that I 
ascended them. It is observable, that this de- 
scription agrees with tliat of the whole western 
face of the Turkey Mountains ; while, on the 
cast, their declivities are every where gradual. 
The mountains have their name from the flocks 
of wild turkeys by which they were formerly 
frequented, but of which none are at present 
seen. 

The substance of these mountains, from Gran- 
by downward to Newhaven, is unifoniily a ba- 
saltic stone, called xuhin-stone, nnd peperino-sto?ie, 
and of which the component parts arc found 
to be indurated clav and iron. Its surface, when 



220 TUAVflLS THROUGH PART 

long exposed to the atmosphere, becomes red 
with the rust or oxyd of that metal, and m its 
fractures it every where affects the cokimnar 
form, detaching itself in upright and polygonal 
masses. Those masses, however, separate them- 
seUes into others more minute ; insomuch, that 
at the feet of all these mountains, there are 
heaps of smaller fragments of all sizes, and 
all of which still retain something of the 
prismatic form. The stone is heavy, and, when 
not oxydated, its colour is a light brown. How 
high it accompanies the range, in its progress 
toward Lake George, or rather to the countries 
eastward of that lake, I have not ascertained ; but 
it appears to terminate before it enters the lower 
parts of Vermont, where I suspect that it loses 
itself in schist. Peperino-stone presents itself 
again on the west bank of Hudson's river, be- 
low the spur of the Alleghany Mountains w^hich 
forms the Highlands on that river; and, receding 
into the inland parts of New-Jersey, occa- 
sions the beautiful fall of the Passaic, a river in 
that countr}\ There, as well as in Connecticut, 
it has copper in its neighbourhood. 
g^ The summits of the rocks that I ascended 
are exceedingly barren of soil, and they support 
only a scanty growth of stunted trees. Among 
these, the evergreens are white spruce-fir, fPijim 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 221 

abies Canadensis J here called hemlock or hem- 
lock-spruce. 

From Ne^vgate-prison, I proceeded to Hart- 
land, a town yet further to the north-west, and 
still more remote from the Connecticut. For a 
short distance, the road led through some beau- 
tiful woods, and then entered a plain, from the 
Monnatuc Mountains, a detached portion of the 
range. The sloping banks, formed by fallen 
fragments round their feet, ai'e clothed \A'ith oak, 
pine and spruce ; over which is a crown of 
columnar rocks, itself surmounted by other 
woods. An eagle, sailing slow, with his broad 
wing, above the ^^•hole, gave a suitable life 
to the picture. 

The soil below is light and alluvial, and 
variously covered with grass, with young wood, 
and with fields of rye. At the further extre- 
mity of the level, is the stream called Salmon- 
brook, and by its side is the small village 
of Canton. Here, I found myself once more on 
a tump ike-road, and at the foot of the Poppatun- 
nuc mountains. 

The turnpike-road reaches only a few miles ; 
and beyond this is a country in which tl^^ 
settlements have hitherto made but little pro- 
gress. The surface is rocky, and composed 
of steep mountains, divided only b}' narrow 
valleys. 



222 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

The Poppatunnuc Mountains, which rise be- 
tween the Salmon-brook, and Farmington- river, 
consist of two ridges, of which one is locally 
called the East, and the other the West Moun- 
tain. The East mountain is also called the East 
society, and East Hartland. Having ascended 
the East Mountain, by a road rendered almost 
impassable, by the large and loose stones and 
stumps of trees with which it is filled, I found 
the church and village of the society or parish 
of East Hartland, at the distance of ten miles 
from Newgate-prison. 

Settlements were begun to be made in East 
Hartland in the year 1754 but this town is still in 
great pait uncleared. The church is surround- 
ed by a church-yard or burying-ground, a cir- 
cumstance not conformable with the usual 
practice of this country. In the church-yard is 
a grave-stone, to the memory of one of the first 
settlers of the town, and on which is inscribed 
a text, too applicable to the earlier colonists not 
to have been frequently applied : fFe are 
strangers and sojourners in the land, as all our 
fathers xvere. 

East Hartland contains, within its whole ex- 
tent, from three to four hundred houses. It has 
three district schools, and it gives three hun- 
dred dollars per annum to its clergyman. Wheat 
is said to be destroved here bv the blast ; and 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 223 

the chief Avealth of the inhabitants is in their 
pastures. The settlement is at present so far 
advanced, as to hold out encouragement for 
making a turnpike road, which it is proposed 
shortly to undertake ; but I saw, in the person 
of a Mr. Knight, the first la\vyer that has ever 
resided in the neighbourhood. 

From East Hartland, I descended, by a steep 
declivity, into a valley of some width, in which 
the forest is begun to be felled. Beyond this 
is the West Mountain, covered with woods, 
behind which is the valley of Farmington-rivcr, 
or the country anciently called Tunxis. 

By the side of the river is a good road, on 
which I found a public house, the first that has 
been established here, and of which the architec- 
ture is characteristic of the country and its inha- 
bitants. It has the frame work of a tolerable 
dwelling, which in time it will no doubt become. 
Meanwhile, it is inhabited, though in the most 
unfinished state ; the floorings of the upper story, 
the ceilings of the lower, and the partitions of 
most of the rooms, being to be added, from 
time to time, as leisure and means shall offer. 
The valley in which it stands is exceedingly 
beautiful. 

A little above the public-house, the road crosses 
a bridge, and here the neighbourhood becomes 
more populous. In West Hartland there are 



224 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



six schools, each of which has about thirty-five 
scholars. 

Beyond West Hartland is Colebrook, a town 
settled in 1756, but which contains only one 
church or meeting-house ; a part of its inhabitants, 
however, are joined with parts of the inhabitants 
of two neighbouring towns, in a society or 
association of anabaptists. Colebrook has only 
one pauper, and that is an aged negro. The coun- 
try round is called the Green Woods. Iron- works 
begin to show themselves here ; this town 
lying on the eastern skirts of that country of 
iron-ore which now lay before me. 

The bones of animals of extraordinary size, 
and particularly of the animal which has receiv- 
ed the name of mammoth^ have been found in 
several parts of those regions of North America, 
in which the countiy is composed of plains, 
abundantly watered with large rivers ; but, of the 
ancient existence of such animals, even in the 
mountainous and less fertile tracts, on the east of 
Hudson's river, Colebrook, and its vicinity are 
said to have betrayed vestiges. We are told, 
that in Colebrook in the year 1796, some 
labourers, digging to the depth of nine or ten 
feet, found three large tusks, and two thigh 
bones, the latter of which measured each about 
four feet and four inches in length, and twelve 
inches and a half in circumference. It is added, 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^25 

that when first discovered, they were entire ; 
but that as soon as the}^ were exposed to the air, 
they mouldered into dust. * 

On the fifth of June I slept in Norfolk, at a 
house situate on the road bet^v-een Hartford and 
Hudson, and distant from the former place thir- 
ty-three miles. Near it, at the end of a wood, 
is a small lake or pool, called the small or little 
pond^ in contradistinction to another that is in 
the town, and that is larger. Norfolk is nine 
miles in length, by four and a half in width ; 
but it contains only one meeting-house. The 
natural forest in a great degree remains, and the 
town therefore cannot be populous ; but it 
would probably possess more than one meeting- 
house, that is, it would comprise more than one 
parish or society, were it not that many of its 
inhabitants are of the anabaptist persuasion. 

In the morning, my joiuTiey lay along the 
sides of woody mountains, called the Ragged 
Mountains, and which are still part of the Green 
Mountains. Beneath the road is a brook, called 
Blackbeny-river, on wliich are several iron- 
works. In all this countr}', which is little in- 
viting to the plough, the forest has onl}^ disap- 
peared in part ; but tlie establishment of iron- 
works occasions a demand for ehiircoal, and the 



* Amerirai) (iazcUe'Ci'. 
VOL. I. J" f 



226 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

axe and the flame are therefore no^v busily at 
work. 

Adjoming Norfolk is Canaan. Here, the 
country declines toward a river called the Hou- 
satonic ; and with this circumstance, as I believe, 
is to be connected the hemispherical form 
which the summits of all the mountains wear. 
One of these is called Haystack Mountain. I 
suppose this and the rest to have been fashioned 
by the action of water. Among the other de- 
tached eminences of this description, are Rattle- 
snake and Bald Mountains. The locks which 
project from their sides are encrusted with sparry 
concretions, among which are zeolites and other 
substances that bespeak tlie presence of me- 
tals. 

Along with the ragged summits of the moun- 
tains, all the other features of a ruder landscape 
disappear. The soil becomes gravelly, and the 
whole surface prepares the tra\ eller for his ap- 
proach to a river. Amid the woods and softened 
sceneiT here exhibited, a small opening, by the 
way-side, is devoted to the burial of the dead. 
It is unenclosed ; but the situation is enough 
of a solitude to make this of no importance. I 
stopped, and strolled among the graves. The 
greater part are distinguished by grave- stones 
and inscriptions ; but I scarcely found one of the 
dead to whose name there did not belong some 



OF THE ITNITED STATES qQ'' 

military rank. From the turf under which repose 

the remains of Major Nahum , I turned to 

that which is sacred to Ensign Jesse ; and 

thence to the peaceful dwellings of a long list of 
colonels, captains, coq^orals and genei-als. While 
I was admiring within myself the dust that cover- 
ed all these titled dead, I arrived at the table- 
tombstone of a departed colonel, on which is 
cut, with several truths of equal value, that 
which follows : 

Titles of honour can't secure the great, 
Nor save poor mortals from the laws of fate .' 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Connecticut — Canaan — Salisbury — Sharon . 

I WAS here in the north society of Canaan, 
Of this society, which contains fiA-e or six 
schools, the inhabitants are principally artificers, 
as nailers, joiners and cartwrights, or waggon- 
makers. Of the last' there are ten in the society. 
The number of voters, or persons possessing 
the elective franchise, is about three hundred. 
The paupers are about ten or eleven in mmiber. 



228 



TUAVELS THROUGH PART 



111 the south society the number of schools is 
about the same as in the north. 

The land in this society is more mountainous 
and rocky than in the south society, from which 
it is separated by a mountain, called Canaan 
Mountain. It consists also, in part, of large 
swamps and morasses. The timber is pine ajid 
oak. Good wheat is raised here ; and the sys- 
tem of farming in this town, like that of the 
towns in general, is to employ the land alter- 
nately for grain and grass. In all parts, timo- 
thy, here called English grass, is the grass cul- 
tivated. Specimens of lead and iron ores are 
frequent in the mountains. There is a slitting- 
mill in the north society, and several iron-works 
in different parts of the town. The Housatonic 
separates this town from the town of Salisbury. 

Crossing the river, and passing over the 
mountains that form the opposite bank, and on 
Avhich are some iron- works, I descended into a. 
valley that is watered by the Fell-kill. Kill 
is a Dutch word, signifying a small stream ; and 
its occurrence in this place is a monument of 
the ancient progress of the colonists of Ncm- 
York (then called the New Netherlands) to the 
eastward of Hudson's y'wqy. Salisbury lies on 
the furthest limits of Connecticut, in this direc- 
tion. It is said to have been called by the In- 
dians fViatiac. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 229 

On the banks of the Fell-kill, and near a 
church, I found an inn. Salisbury is in a par- 
ticular nicuiner devoted to the manufacture of 
iron, the whole tract of country abounding in 
bog-ore. There are two furnaces in the town, 
of which, however, one is not employed. At 
the other, not only the ordinaiy hollow iron or 
hollow 7uare, is manufactured, but also anchors 
and cannon. There is a carding-machine in 
this town, and there was formerly a paper-mill, 
but this was burnt down some }ears ago, and it 
is not rebuilt. 

The church or meeting-house that I saw is 
the only one in Salisbury ; but the number of 
schools is from ten to twelve ; and each school is 
attended by forty, fifty and even sixty scholars. 
The teachers are paid at the rate of twche dol- 
lars per month. 

On the 24th of December, 1799, Mr. Bing- 
ham, of Salisbur}% killed a she-bear, then large 
with young. The foetuses were three in number, 
male and female, of the size of kittens of two 
months old, and as complete bears (says the na- 
turalist from Avhom I take the account) as they 
could have been at their full growth ; that is, 
they did not require to be licked into shape, as 
old tradition has pretended, and as 0\id and 



230 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

Others have ventured to assert.* — That the error 
should have remained so long uncontradicted by 
positive testimony is probably to be attributed 
to the peculiar habits of the she -bear. Bears 
retire to the roots and hollows of trees almost at 
the falling of the first snow ; but, while the male 
contents himself with a hiding-place near the 
root of a tree, the female always chooses a 
hollow in the upper part. It is here, in 
safety from the wolves, and during the winter 
season, that she brings forth ; and it is not till 
the spring, that she leads her young, by that 
time well grown, out of this secret place. f 
All these circumstances must render it a very 
rare occurrence, either to find the mother in a 
gravid state, or the young till some time after 
their birth. 

At eleven miles from the meeting-house in 
Salisbury is that of Sharon. The aspect of this 
latter village is particularly agreeable. From, 
the meeting-house, there is a view up a road or 
street, which extends only to a short distance 
before it ascends some lofty mountains, distin- 
guished by those rounded or swelling contours, 
which, as I have intimated, belong to the emi- 

* Medical Repository. Hex. 2d. Vol. I. p. 419. 
t See Travels and Adventures in Canada and the 
Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776, 
by Alexander Henry, Esq. Chap. xvii. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 531 

nences in this neighbourhood. In the vale be- 
low, the landscape is embellished by the mansion 
of Mr. John Cotton Smith, a respectable attorney, 
and speaker of the lower house of assembly. 

Sharon has been settled about seventy years. 
It has one forge, for the manufacture of bar-iron ; 
but the inhabitants are almost wholly fai-mers. 
The lands, here and in S.ilisbury, are excellent 
wheat-lands ; and the same description is appli- 
cable to a whole stripe of land, stretching from 
Sharon to Hudson's river, through a count}- in 
the territory of New York, called Duchess- 
county. The favourite crops are wheat, clover, 
and timothy, or English grass. No anxiety is 
entertained concerning exhausting crops, be- 
cause gypsum or plaster of Paris is found (or so 
it is said) to restore in all cases the vigour of 
tlie soil, and make up for inferior husbandry. 
This manure is bought at Poughkeepsie, on 
Hudson's river, where it sells at ten dollars per 
ton. The carriage to Sharon is valued at six 
dollars ; the grinding at three, and the spreading 
at one ; making the whole expense equal to 
about twenty dollars per ton. 

Gypsum is imported into the United States 
from Nova Scotia, in British bottoms ; but it is 
usually landed at PassamLiquodd}-,or some neigh- 
bouring port in the district of Maine, and thence 
carried to the various markets, in vessels belong- 



232 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

ing to the United States. It is to be observed, 
that by the operation of the embargo^ the United 
States have now attempted to deprive themselves 
of this import, to the great injury, as it is repre- 
sented of their agriculture : " We speak within 
" compass," say some of the politicians of the 
times, " when we say that the agricultural in- 
" terests of these states are advanced to the 
" amount of five millions [of dollars] annually, 
" by the use of plaster of Paris or gypsum."* 

A camp-meeting had lately been held in this 
neighbourhood, that is, in New York, on the 
limits of which Sharon abuts; for, in all this 
part of New England, such an event would be 
extraordinary. A camp-meeting is a phenome- 
non in the moral world of which I may hereafter 
have occasion to say more : at present, I shall 
only add, that I found the conversation of 
the people much engrossed by the excesses which 
they had witnessed at this exhibition of fanati- 
cism. The inhabitants of Sharon are in part 
congregationalists, and in part anabaptists. 

The burial-ground of Sharon, which is at the 
same time an orchard, is large, and is distinguish- 
ed by several epitaphs that are written with more 
than the usual portion of good sense. It lies on the 
side of a gentle eminence, from which there is a 

* Balance and New York State JournaJ. 
o 



01' THE UNITED STATES. 



233 



pleasing prospect of the country called the 
town of Amenia, in New York. Cornwall, 
which adjoins Sharon on the cast, that is, which 
lies on the opposite bank of the Housatonic, has 
a rocky soil, though less so than Hartland. It 
aftbrds good pasture, and good crops of wheat. 
It has two hundred voters, and is attached to 
the Jederal politics. 

From Sharon, I proposed going to Litchfield ; 
but I went a little out of the road, for the purpose 
of seeing the Falls of the Housatonic, which I 
had left to the east^\^ard, in descending into 
Shai'on. 

Where the river begins to fall over the rocky 
ledges, its width was at this time about fifty yards. 
The cataract is composed of a succession of 
falls, the water tumbling from the rocks with 
the greatest picturesque beauty. The total de- 
scent may be about sixty feet; but the height 
of no particular fall exceeded, at the time of my 
visit, twelve or fifteen feet ; nor was the breadth 
of any one of the falls equal to the breadth of 
the stream. At seasons when there is more 
water in the river, the whole stream may pass 
from the summit in its entire breadth ; but, at 
the same time, the height of the falls must be 
lessened.* 

* The river is usually described as falling, at this 
place, "about sixty feet perpendicular, in a perfect 
" white sheet — in one entire white sheet.'" 
VOL. I. G g 



234 ■ IKAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 

The Housatonic rises in Massachusetts, not 
many miles to the northward of SaUsbury and 
Canaan, in Connecticut, and falls into the sea in 
Long-island Sound, near the town of Stratford. Its 
name is sometimes written Hooestennuc and 
Hoosootoonoke, according to the ear or fancy of 
the writer, in his attempt to imitate the Indian 
pronunciation. Dr. Morse informs us, that the 
signification of the word is over the mountain; 
but, if this be so, I presume that the word is a con- 
traction of a whole phrase ; for Wadjhusutunnuc, 
which may mean at the river over or beyond the 
mountain. Wadjhu or Wadzu denotes a par- 
ticular description of mountain ; and the con- 
traction, in composition, of Wadjhu^ into hu 
or hoo^ is after the Indian manner. 

The fall of water is employed in working the 
machinery of two or three forges and mills ; and 
at the foot of the cataract is a bridge. Below 
the bridge, the stream recovers its tranquillity,- 
and ^vinds beneath banks of green- sward, shaded 
by white pine-trees of an ample growth. The 
landscape round is mountainous. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Connecticut — Goshen — Litchfield. 

FROM the Falls of the Housatonic there is 
a good road, leading over Canaan Mountain. 
In the lowlands are some marshy tracts ; but, 
here, a sufficient, though not verj^ agreeable 
road, is formed by causeys of logs ; or, in the 
language of the country, it is bridged. 

Canaan Mountain, and the hills about it, 
exhibit only the beginnings of the operations of 
the settler. The bark of a tree being cut roimd, 
its whole circumference, the tree dies. This 
operation is called girdling. \Vhen the trees, 
having been girdled, are dead, and become dr}^, 
fire is spread among them. The effects of the 
fire are irregular. Here, it nearly devours a 
whole tree ; or, consuming that part of the trunk 
which is nearest the ground, it occasions the 
upper part, with all its branches, to fall, in head- 
long ruin. Here, it only scorches different parts 
of the tree ; and there, it devours the heart, 
leaving the rest hollow, blackened, and apparent- 
ly always ready to fall. Meanwhile, the bark 
decavs, and tumbles to the ground; and the 



236 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

wood beneath, exposed to the injuries of the 
atmosphere, acquires a gray colour. It is under 
this aspect that the new farms present them- 
selves, even for many years after the beginning 
of their cultivation. Skeletons of trees lift 
all around their desolate and naked arms ; and, 
baiTcn, burnt and dismembered as they are, the 
imagination attributes their state only to the 
scathe of heaven. 

The south society of Canaan adjoins the town 
of Cornwall, through a comer of which the road 
leads to Goshen. In the manufacture of cheese, 
the west side of the Connecticut boasts of that 
of Goshen, as the east boasts of that of Stoning- 
ton. Goshen contains many large farms, and 
substantial farmers, devoted to dairying : to 
speak more definitely of the extent of the 
farms in this town, it is to be added, that 
they are usually of from one to four hun- 
dred acres. The road to Hudson and Cats- 
kill lies through Goshen, where it was cut 
about eight years ago. Goshen has onl}-^ one 
meeting-house, which is forty years old ; but 
to which a tower and steeple have been added 
within these six years : the edifice is entirely of 
wood. Goshen has ten or twelve schools, and 
six or seven paupers. It raises but little wheat. 

From the church or meeting-house, in Go- 
shen, to the Towni Hill in Litchfield, is a dis- 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 237 

tance of only five miles and a half. I reached 
this place on the evening of the eighth of June. 

Litchfield is the county-town of the county of 
Litchfield, and contains four societies or pa- 
rishes, severally denominated the To\mi Hill, 
Northfield, South Farms and Milton. The num- 
ber of inhabitants, in the year 1800, was 4,215. 
Within the four societies there arc thirty 
common or district schools. The total amount 
of to\Mi-taxes, for the yeai', is fourteen hun- 
dred dollars. Twenty paupers aie ^^ holly main- 
tained, and six or eight more ai'e assisted ; and 
of this part of the expenditure the amount is 
eight hundred dollai's. The salary- of the cler- 
gyman of the Town Hill society, together with 
the incidental expenses of the meeting-house, 
are also eight hundred dollars. The whole of the 
taxes paid in this society, the county-taxes ex- 
cepted, are enumerated as follows : 

1. A state-tax of seven mills, or se\'en thou- 
sandth parts of a dollar, on every dollar in the 
town-list of ratable property. 

2. A town-tax of two cents and eight mills 
on every dollar in the town-list ; and, 

3. A society-tax of two cents on every 
dollar. 

The town list amounts to 94,804 dollars. 
On this sum, a tax of seven mills per dollar 
amounts to nearlv 665 dollars. 



238 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



On the same sum, a further tax, of two cents 
and eight mills per dollar, amounts to 2,656 
dollars. 

On the same sum, a further tax, of two cents 
per dollar, amoinits to 1,896 dollars. The 
three sums added together, produce the total 
sum of 5,217 dollars. 

The number of inhabitants in the town, in the 
year 1800, was 4,215. Taking the present 
number at 5,000, and dividing the amount of 
the taxes by the number of inhabitants, the 
average amount of taxes per head will be about 
one dollar, and fifty cents. But, if we reduce the 
uumlDerof inhabitants, by throwing out those who 
contribute only in a very small proportion, the 
amount paid by the remainder will of course 
be considerably increased. 

This calculation, which is exceedingly loose, 
as it respects the town of Litchfield, may be 
sufficiently strict, as it respects the average of 
the several towns of the state ; and it therefore 
puts us into possession of the average amount of 
the taxes paid by each inhabitant, and by the 
whole. If we make our estimate by the property, 
rather than by the polls, the amount of state, town 
and society-taxes, will be about seven dollars 
upon each rated thousand. 

The whole of Litchfield is hilly ; but the hill, 
which is the seat of the To\vn Hill Society, is 
called as may be inferred, the Town Hill. In the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



239 



south-west comer of the town is a hill or moun- 
tain called Mount Tom. 

The Town Hill descends on every side, dis- 
covering fine prospects of the verdant country 
below. In the vale, to the north-west, is a small 
river, called Bantam-river. The hill abounds in 
springs and hence the summer mornings are 
often foggy and sultr}^ ; but a refreshing breeze , 
usually rises at noon. 

The church or meeting-house is a handsome 
wooden building, placed in the centre of the 
little plain that is on the top of the hill. On one 
side of the plain is the county-court house, of 
more modem ai'chitecture, but differing in 
nothing, in its exterior, from the ordinary ex- 
terior of a meeting-house. The dwelling-houses 
ai'C not a hundred in number, but many of them 
are veiy respectably inhabited. Litchfield is the 
family residence of Mr. Oliver Wolcott, for- 
merly secretary at war, for the United States; 
and it is also the residence of Mr. Tapping 
Reeve, one of the judged of the superior coinl: 
of Connecticut ; imd of some other persons, 
justly distinguished by the public. 

As a county-town, Litchfield, like all others 
of the same description, is the residence of 
several practising attorneys ; but it is also in a 
particular manner a scat of legal study, in con- 



240 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



sequence of the courses of lectures delivered by 
Judge Reeve and Mr. Gould, to a circle of 
students. The reading and talents of both those 
gentlemen are in so much esteem, that several 
of the pupils that attend them, come even from. 
North and South Carolina. Among these, I 
had the pleasure of seeing more than one, of 
whom the manners and the endowments appear- 
ed alike to entitle them to esteem. 

Mr. Gould was not in Litchfield at this time; 
but I had the satisfaction of attending one of 
the lectures of Judge Reeve. It was delivered 
in a small building, adjoining his front garden, 
and with the door open to the public foot- way. 

To Mr. Aaron Burr Reeve, the son of the 
judge, and a nephew of Colonel Burr, I am in- 
debted for several instances of attention, during 
my stay in Litchfield ^ and, among others, for 
having led me to a little village ball. The ball 
was held in an open part of the court-house, 
without the bar ; and, what will probably be 
thought, in a striking manner to evince, if 
nothing more, at least the equal condition upon 
which all the members of society are placed, 
is the reason that was assigned for a thinner 
attendance than had been expected. — The as- 
semblage consisted of the younger members of 
the most respectable inhabitants of the place ; 
and, at the same time, many that had been in- 
2 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 241 

vited were kept away, by their consideration for 
the gaoler's wife, who was Sc\id to be lying dan- 
gerously ill. 

Among the amusements of the young people 
are little rural parties, held on the islands of 
Bantam-river. There is in Litchfield a re- 
spectable school for young ladies. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Connecticut — Kent — Inscriptions. 

A FEW miles to the west of Litchfield, is 
Kent, a town on the boundary, and of which 
the settlement was begun in the year 1740. Its 
limits then included the modern to"\^Ti of 
Washington. 

In Washington, on the Shippaug, a riverwhich 
falls into the Housatonic, is a tract of land, still 
reserved to the use of a few families of Indians, 
and known by the name of Scaticook. On the 
Hosac, a small river that falls into Hudson's 
river from the east, is a place called Schactecoke 
and Scaghticoke ; and these Avords, together 
with Scaticoak, are apparently of the same ori- 
ginal with Piscatagua, the name of a river in 
New Hampshire. Pscatiquoke, Pscatiqucag 
or Pscatiguiah, implies, in the language of the 
Indians of the country, the baiiks at the conflih 

VOL. I. H h 



242 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

ence of two streams, or where two channels are 
divergent ; in other words, what is sometimes 
popularly called "Sifork. This description I sup- 
pose to be applicable to Scaticook, in Kent, as 
it strictly is to Schacticoke, on the Hosac. Sca- 
ticook was formerly understood to comprise 
lands on both sides of the river ; but its limits 
are now reduced. 

It was not convenient for me to visit this 
place, a circumstance which I have perhaps the 
more reason to regret, on account of an Indian 
inscription which is extant, as it is said, upon 
one of the rocks. Since I left Connecticut, I have 
seen, however, more than one Indian inscription, 
as hereafter I shall have occasion to relate ; and I 
am not led to believe that there is, in the in- 
scription at Scaticook, any thing peculiar or ex- 
traordinary. The fact of its existence is proba- 
bly alone of any importance ; a fact which adds 
to the number of instances in which these in- 
scriptions are found. The only intimation, 
that I have received of it, is from the manuscripts 
of the late Dr. Ezra Stiles, formerly president of 
Yale College, in this state ; and wherein it ap- 
pears to consist but of a very few and trifling 
sculptures. 

From the same source, and from no other, I have 
also learned, that there are some Hebrew words^ 
engraved on another rock, in a town on the 
south-west of Litchfield, and which was formerly 



OF THE UNITED STATESu 



243 



a part of Kent. A strong disposition to discover, 
in the aborigines of North America, an Hebraic, 
and even Judaic origin, has long existed among 
some portion of the learned ; and indeed this 
theory alone seems to have engrossed, for many 
years, the attention of the few persons, among 
the English colonists, who have been curious in 
their regard ; but Dr. Stiles, though, among 
his countrymen, he has some reputation for ere- 
dulity, appears at least to have escaped this 
snare ; and, in the instance of the Washington 
Inscription, is content to trace to a very humble 
source, even the existence of real Hebrew cha- 
racters. 

The rock which bears the inscription is an in- 
sulated mass of stone, composed, according 
to the manuscript, of white Jlint. It stands 
amid a forest, on the summit of Cobble 
Hill, which rises opposite to the modem Scati- 
cook, and was included in the ancient, and is 
about a mile long, and eighty or a hundred 
rods in breadth. Dr. Stiles, in some places, 
calls the hill, Hebrew-pinnacle Hill, and the spot 
on which the stone is found, the Hebrew Pinna- 
cle. The pinnacle is distant six miles from 
Litchfield church or meeting-house, and is only 
two miles to the north of the parish of New 
Preston. 

The rock lies north and south, and measures 
fourteen feet in length, and eight or ten in 



244 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

width, both at the base and at the top ; the sides 
being more or less perpendicular, and smooth 
faced. Its height from the ground is six feet at 
the north end, and five at the south ; and there 
are chai'acters engraved on all its parts : the 
Hebrew inscription is on its horizontal summits 
The inscription appears to comprise but a few 
words : " Two," says the manuscript, " contain- 
" ing the names Adam and Abraham, are ob- 
" vious ; the other two are unintelligible." It is 
added, that a gentleman of the Je\\ ish nation 
thought them chronological : he probably was 
shown only a copy. 

Though the hill is said to be called the Hebrew 
Pinnacle, or the Hebrew-pinnacle Hill, yet the 
manuscript also says, that the rock is " very little 
" kno^vTi, even in the neighbourhood." The 
following account is then given of the first dis- 
covery. 

About the year 1760, an old woman showed 
to some certain persons a written paper, in which 
was contained an account, that at a rock with 
ivriting on it, situate near her place of resi- 
dence, money was buried. These persons, in 
consequence, spent several yeai^s in diggingtofind 
the money, a task from which they desisted on- 
ly in the year 1774. At first, they concealed 
their infonxiation with views of gain, and after- 
ward, through shame ; and whence the woman 
derived the paper, has always remained a secret. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 



245 



Dr. Stiles doubts the truth of one part of the 
tradition, which imports, that some pieces of 
the rock were broken away by the adventurers, 
and sent to New York and elsewhere, to be decy- 
phered. The doctor also appeai-s to place no 
confidence in the date assigned to the discovery. 
The Indians, at Scaticook, have been asked in 
vain for information upon the subject. 

Kent, within the limits of which Washington 
formerly w^as, was begun to be settled in 1740; 
and there were Moravian missionaries at Scati- 
cook, as early as 1750, and till 1770 ; but the doc- 
tor tells us, that the inscription was not publicly 
heard of till 1780; and adds that, " indeed, I 
" believe it was very new in 1780." 

The characters, that are not Hebrew, ap- 
pear, from the MS, to be Roman ; as B H, 
which, it is suggested, may be no other than the 
initials of Barnabas Hatch, a settler that lived 
within a hundred rods of the rock, in the 
year 1741. In another place ai"e the characters 
I H O W, followed by additional ones that are 
defaced. 

Though Dr. Stiles believes that the Hebrew 
inscription was very new in 1780, he yet disbe- 
lieves, what is now asserted by some, that it 
was engraved by a piuty of French officers, be- 
longing to M. de Rochambeau's army ; of whom 
it is said, that they paid a visit to the pinnacle, 



246 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, kc. 

on a party of pleasure. In conclusion, the doc- 
tor furnishes us with a very probable clew to 
the mystery : 

" There has prevailed, for these fifty years 
" past, a strong conceit, that the western parts of 
" Connecticut abounded with mines of the pre- 
" cious metals. The mountains of New Milford, 
" Kent and Cornwall, have been much searched 
'' for this end. Two or three gentlemen of the 
*' Jewish nation, at New York, have, for many 
*' years past, been owners of, and concerned in 
*' working a mine at New Milford, six or eight 
" miles distant from this inscription, on the 
" Hebrew pinnacle moimtain. A Jew, skilled in 
" mineralogy, from Germany, has been conver- 
" sant among these mountains. I have rather 
" imagined, a Jew, Mr. Moses, might have en- 
" graved this inscription ; as he resided at Corn- 
" wall, adjoining it, half a year, betw^een 1766 
" and 1770, and spent his time in examining 
" and searching for mines, in Cornwall, Kent 
" and New Milford. He professed the art of 
" refining metals. I thus have no doubt that 
" this inscription is to be ascribed to some of 
" these Jews, and that it was probably made 
" since the year 1760."* 

* MS of the late Reverend Ezra Stiles, D. D. and 
president of Yale College, reposited in the library of the 
Historical Society of Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Connecticut — JFoodbridge — Newhaven . 



LITCHFIELD is distant thirteen miles and a 
half from Salisbury, and thirty -six from Newha- 
ven. The Town Hill, though not remarkably 
raised above the surrounding countiy, is said to 
be very much above the level of the sea. Whe- 
ther this be so great as is contended for, or 
whether the cold wet soil ^vith which the hill is 
covered may not be assigned, in pail, as the 
cause of a backward vegetation, I shall not 
pretend to decide ; but of the reality of the 
backwardness, I saw singuhu* proofs. The 
planting or sowing of maize, exclusively called 
corn, was just accomplished on the Town Hill, 
when I reached it. Two days afterward, in 
Waterbuiy, which is the town immediately be- 
low, I learned that the planting of the siime ve- 
getable had there been completed more than a 
week before. On the same day, in Waterbur\-, 
on the banks of the Naugatuc, it Avas above 
ground, and in some places the inhabitants 
were at work at the first hoeing ; and, \\ithin a 
few hours I saw it, in Newhaven, more than 
a foot high. The Tout^ Hill is said to bf 



248 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

in north latitude, 41^ 46' and west longitude 
73« 77\ 

The county of Litchfield, besides possessing 
fine pastures, raises much wheat and maize. 
In the town, in addition to the water of several 
fertilizing streams, is a small lake or pool, called 
the great pojicl. The bogs yield iron-ore ; and 
there are iron- works, an oil-mill, several saw- 
mills and grist-mills. 

Watertown, Waterbury and Woodbridge, the 
towns through which I passed, between Litch- 
field and Newhaven, ai'e all watered by the 
Naugatuc, otherwise called Waterbury-river, a 
river which fails into the Housatonic. Of both 
these streams the channels are rocky and roman- 
tic, and the catai-acts and other interruptions 
frequent- Of both, the banks abound in iron- 
ore ; and on both, are numerous iron- works, and 
in the town very numerous mills. The Nauga- 
tuc rises in Torringford, or perhaps nearer to 
Colebrook, on the west side of the Turkey 
Mountains, and among several small lakes, which 
are numerous in the hollows. In Goshen, is a 
lake called Massapog Pond, and another, called 
Pauge Pond. Massapog is apparently formed 
of massa or missi piag or peag — at the banks of 
a large pool; and Pauge is piag — at the banks 
of the pool — or of the water. In the same to\vn, 
one of the streams that are tributary to the Nauga-^ 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 249 

tuc, has the English name of Witch-river^ for 
what reason I am not informed. In Water- 
town, a little below the church belonging to tlie 
church of England, the Naugatuc receives the 
Moosum^ a name probably from mons or moose^ 
the elk. 

Waterbury is said to ha^e been called by the 
Indians Matteluck ; perhaps Mattetuc or Mata- 
tuc : Matatig', mata tiguiah, at the banks of a 
shallow river. 

As the road approaches Newhaven, It is cai'- 
ried along the east side of the basaltic rock that 
composes the Western Range, and which 
terminates in a bluff-head behind the city, 
called West Rock. It is the West and East 
Rocks, red, as before described, with the oxyd 
of iron, and seen conspicuous in the offing, that 
once procured for the site of Newhaven, the 
names of Red Mounte and Red Hills, At the 
feet of the rocks, and between them, is a 
broad plain or meadow, Matered by two small 
rivers. On this meadow, which embraces the 
harbour of Newhaven, is seated the city. 

Newhaven, of which it has already been 
observ^ed, that it was the ca])ital of the colony of 
the same name, so long as that colony remained 
separate from the colony of Connecticut, is 
still a town of importance in this state, not only 
for its commerce, and for the alternate sessions 

VOL. I. I i 



250 I'RAVELS THROUGH PART 

of the legislature which are held in it, but as 
being the seat of its university. It is also the 
county-town of the county of Newhaven. Its 
population, in the year 1800, was 5,157 in num- 
ber, including slaves. The value of the imports 
of the district, for the year 1794, amounted to 
171,868 dollars. The trade is with New York, 
and with the West Indies, llie city was incor- 
porated in the year 1784. 

Newhaven has many handsome buildings, 
public and private. Several private dwelling- 
houses, built of wood, are of a very elegant 
architecture, the introduction of the taste for 
which, into Newhaven and Hartford, is ascrib- 
ed to an English builder, of the name of 
Barmer. 

The city was originally laid out in squares, of 
which a large one, near the centre, is open, and 
contains the public buildings. On the west side is 
Yale College ; on the east, the county-gaol; and in. 
the middle are the old state-house, and a church 
and burial ground, surrounded by a spacious 
green. The green is fenced with a substantial 
white railing, and shaded with some ancient 
elms, of a most beautiful species, fidmus Ameri- 
cana. J The state-house and church are of 
brick, as are also the buildings of Yale College. 
The county-gaol, is of stone. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 251 

Besides the college chapel, there ai'e in New- 
haven three congregational churches, and one 
English church. 

The city has several streets, many of which 
are ornamented with trees. They ai'c all unpaved ; 
but the soil is sandy, and they are therefore clean. 
A pier of great length projects into the harbour, on 
which is a row of roomy warehouses of brick. 
The distance, from the pier to the mouth of 
the harbour, in Long-island Sound, is four miles. 
The number of houses in the city is said to 
be about six hundred. 

A few years ago, much attention was paid in 
Newhaven, and its vicinity, to the raising of 
silkworms, and manufacture of silk ; and many 
of the female members of the community are in 
possession of silk gowns, spun and woven by 
themselves, from silk produced under their care. 
This, however, has been the limit of the suc- 
cess obtained ; and the pursuit is now wholly 
abandoned. 

At the distance of a short ride out of the city, 
on the Mill-river, are the works of Mr. Eli 
Whitney, a machinist of very extraordinary 
ingenuity. Mr. Whitney has invented a machine 
for separating the seeds of the cotton-plant, from 
the cotton by which they are enveloped in the 
pod. From the manner in which the cotton ad- 
heres, the possibility of such a contrivance had 



252 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

remained long in doubt; but Mr. Whitney lias 
entirely satisfied the wishes of the cotton-planter, 
and the value of estates in the cotton-coun- 
tries has been greatly increased by this effort of 
his genius. 

Mr. Whitney has applied machinery to the 
entire manufacture of fire arms, of which he is 
at present making a large quantity for the United 
States. For every part of the musket he has a 
mould ; and there is said to be so much exacti- 
tude in the finishing, tliat every part of any 
one musket may be adapted to all the 
parts of any other. Card-teeth, cotton-thread, 
paper, and some other articles ai'e also manufac- 
tured in Newhaven. 

A bank Vv^as incorporated here in 1792, of 
which the capital stock is fixed at 50,000 dol- 
lars.* In tliis, as in every other commercial 
place in the United States, there is at least one 
marine insurance company. The stock of these 
companies is of the most profitable description. 

* It should have been mentioned (Chap, viii.) that 
there is a bank in Middletown, with a capital stock of 
100,000 dollars. That city, with the county of Mid- 
dlesex, also support one newspaper, called the Middlesex 
Gazette, of which the politics is j^rf(?r«/. The popula- 
tion of the toTjn of Middletown, in the year 1800, 
amounted to 5,001 souls. Dr. Morse inadvertently as- 
cribes to the city^ the population of the town. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 353 

The average amount of the several dividends, 
made on the insurance in each year, since the 
year 1790, is said to have exceeded a hundred 
per cent. 

Two newspapers are published weekly in 
Newhaven, of which both are supports of 
the federal party. 

Newhaven has not ^^d^lolly escaped die rava- 
ges of the malignant fever, commonly called 
yellow fever ; but its general salubrity is said 
to be remarkable. The average number of deaths 
is represented as not exceeding one in seventy. It 
is observed that all parts of New England, and 
particularly of the countries lying on the Con- 
necticut, are subject to inflammatory diseases,, 
tliat from" time to time make their appearance, 
and occasion a sudden and alarming mortality. 
Their duration, however, is short. 

In describing Newhaven, it would be un- 
pardonable to forget to mention the New Bur}^- 
ing-round. This is a square plot, of large 
extent, divided, by smooth walks, into small 
squares. These squares are again divided by 
railings into still smaller squares, and these 
again into squares so minute as to be reasona- 
bly occupied by two families; for the square 
not being lost sight of for a moment, and the 
smallest square being too large for the general!- 



254 TIIAVELS THROUGH PART 

ty of ikmilies, no choice is left but to divide this 
smallest square into half squares. This last di- 
vision, however, must be so effected as not to de- 
stroy the uniform appearance of the squares. 
The squares are bordered by trees, which, 
unfortunately, are not square also ; but which, 
being Lombardy-poplais, have promised to 
grow with the least irregularity possible. 
There are, however, in the centres of some of 
the squares, a few weeping willows, from which 
quite so much cannot be hoped. Meanwhile, eve- 
ry grave dug is in the same direction, and every 
square is of the same dimensions. The ground 
is level, the walks rolled, the grass smooth, and 
the rails are duly painted, white and black. 

The squares, or half squares, are so many 
freeholds ; and the names of the several free- 
holders are painted on the railings. Hence, the 
names, both of the living and the dead, are to 
be seen together. One inscription relates, that 
the deceased person, of whom it is the memo- 
rial, \vas fifty-four years clerk of the town of 
Nexvhaven^ and fifty -four years clerk of the 
house of representatives. 

The flourishing aspect of Newhaven has 
now been intimated under several features, and 
particularly in its modem buildings. It is as- 
serted, however, by some, that the prosperity 
of the city is not to be estimated by the very 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^55 

specious appearance made by its dwellings, in 
spite of the frailty of their materials. The in- 
habitants, according to them, have " overbuilt 
*' themselves." 

To aiTive at the full meaning of this phrase, 
the reader must be informed, that of almost 
ever}'^ considerable advance in the United States, 
the commencement is dated at the era of tlie 
French revolution ; an event that, by the con- 
sequent wars, threw into their hands a degree 
of commercial prosperity with which they had 
been unacquainted before. This commercial 
prosperity has raised individual fortunes, built 
the cities and villages, throwai bridges across 
the rivers, and cut the roads throughout the 
country.* 

Hoping and believing everj^ thing, from tliis 
flush of wealth and fortune, there are those, who, 
according to the less sanguine, proceed too far. 
The United States, as it is argued by the latter, 
cannot hope for a future progress, corresponding 
with that which they have made during the last 
twenty years. The war in Europe has be- 
come less beneficial ; and it is contended, 
that a general peace would reduce the trade 
once more within its former limits. In many 

* There was no turnpike-road in Connecticut before 
the vear 1791. See American Univerml Geografihii. 



256 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



of the maritime towns, therefore, they think 
that more money has been expended, and 
more numerous and more costly buildings 
erected, than prudence would have directed or 
permitted. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Hillhouse, one of the land- 
ed proprietors of Newhaven, discovers him- 
self to be so little of this opinion, that he has 
projected, and in part commenced, the building 
of a new and entire city, in the immediate rear 
of the old one. He builds his houses of stone, in 
a very solid and costly manner ; and has marked 
out the area of a spacious square, in which are to 
be ornamental plantations. The ground that 
is contained within this area, he proposes giving 
to the public, upon the sole condition, that the 
building-lots shall be purchased, and that the 
plantations shall be subject to his immediate will, 
during the whole term of his life. Newhaven is 
indebted to Mr. Hillhouse for several embeU 
lishments, and for the plan of the New Burying- 
ground. 

Nor is it to merchants and landholders alone, 
that Newhaven ov»^es all the accumulation of 
her buildings. Of a part of the warehouses 
on the pier, the erection is said to have been 
occasioned by a remai'kable instance of mental 
delusion. A Mr. David Austin, a clergyman, 
and a native of this place, took it into his head, 
toward the close of the eighteenth century, that 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 257 

tlie Millenium was at hand, that the Jews were 
to be gathered together and restored, and that 
they Avere to be established in his native city. 
It is pretended, that the warehouses which Mr. 
Austin prevailed upon his father to build, were 
mtended to meet the increased trade of the city, 
under circumstances so auspicious ; and that the 
seer actually caused " four and twenty long white 
" hum-hum garments" to be prepared for the 
four and twenty elders who were to attend the 
new comers in Newhaven. Many other xi- 
sions of the same individual are on record, part- 
ly in the writings of others, and partly in wTi- 
tings of his own. Jocular allusions to the Mil- 
lenium are hence become common in Connec- 
ticut, and to these allusions belong the history of 
Mr. Austin, the Jews, the warehouses at New- 
haven, the A^'hite garments and the elders. 



VOL. I. K k 



CHAPTER XXVIL 

Connecticut — Yale College. 

THE principal college edifices are five in num- 
ber, of which three contain the chambers of the 
students. Each of these is four stories high, a hun- 
dred feet in front, and forty in depth, and con- 
tains thirty-two chambers. The number of cham- 
bers here, therefore, is ninety-six ;* but it is very 
much the practice to suft'er two students to reside 
in one chamber. Between tlie north edifice and 
the central one, but detached from botli, is abuild- 
ing, called the Connecticut Lyceum,withafront 
of about fifty feet ; and between the central edi- 
fice and that on the south is another, with a front 
of forty feet, also detached, and occupied as the 
college chapel. All these edifices are of brick, 
xQvy plain in their architecture, and in the mo- 
dern style. Further to the north, is a handsome 
dwelling-house of wood, built by the college for 
the president. The chapel and the lyceum are 
not so built, or placed, as to produce that symme- 
try which the description of them might imply. 

*" Sufficient for 180 students." American Universal 
Geografthy. 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 259 

The chapel is without ornament, except that it 
is surmounted by a spire or steeple, of a hundred 
and thirty feet in height. Besides the chapel, 
there are other apartments imder the same roof. 
The lyceum is crowTied with a cupola. Behind 
the principal edifices is one more, comprising the 
dining-hall and kitchen. The kitchen forms the 
vestibule. Breakfast is laid without a cloth. 

The lyceum contains a libraiy, museum, and 
council-room, rooms for lectures in philosophy 
and chemistiy, and for depositing philosophical 
and chemical apparatus. 

The faculty and board of management of Yale 
College consist In the president, professors and 
tutors. The established professorships are five in 
number ; including divinity, languages and ec- 
clesiastical history, mathematics and natural phi- 
losophy, chemistry and law^ The professor of 
chemistry delivers four lectures in every week, 
during the terms ; the professor of mathematics 
and natural philosophy, one or two ; in languages 
and ecclesiastical histoiy no lectures are deli- 
vered at present, the professor being allowed time 
to prepare himself; in law no lectures are deli- 
vered at all ; and the divinity-lecture, is delivered 
on a Sunday morning, in the form of a sermon, by 
the president, who, at present, enjoys this profes- 
sorship. 



260 TJIAVELS THROUGH PART 

The president derives a salary of one thou- 
sand dollars per annum, and receives a fee 
of four dollars for every degree conferred. 
The president acts as tutor to the head class of 
students. The professors receive eight hundred 
and twenty dollars per annum each, and the 
professor of chemistrj' has the advantage of sell- 
ing tickets for the lectures. 

The number of chambers is one hundred, and 
this is regarded as sufficient for the accom- 
modation of two hundred students. The rent, 
charged for half a room, is one dollar and a 
half per month. Each student pays his propor- 
tion of the weekly expenditure of the house ; 
and this amounts to a dollar and a half per 
week, or two dollars, and sometimes a little 
more. The actual number of students residing: 
at this college for several years past, has been 
between two hundred and five, and two hundred 
and fifteen. In summer, the students rise at five 
o'clock, breakfast at seven, attend the chemical 
lecture at eight, dine at one, hear prayers at 
six, and sup at seven. 

The library consists in about five thousand 
volumes, chiefly modern, and disposed in a 
room of no laige dimensions. It is adorned 
with one of Mr. Stuart's copies of his picture of 
General Washington. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 261 

In the philosophical lecture-room ai'e portraits 
of George I. Governor Yale, a principal bene- 
factor of the college ; Governors Saltonstall and 
Trumbull, and the late President Stiles. The 
philosophical apparatus has cost two thousand 
dollars. 

The value of the present chemical apparatus 
does not exceed fifteen hundred ; but great 
advances in this and every corresponding object, 
will probably be made with rapidity, through 
the abilities and industr)^ of Mr. Benjamin 
Silliman, the present professor of chemistry. 
Mr. Silliman is recently returned from a voy- 
age to Europe, made at the expense of the 
college, for the purpose of procuring the neces- 
sary appai'atus, and enlarging his own scientific 
information ; and he discovers, in a variety of 
particulars, a mind ardently and incessantly oc- 
cupied with the pursuits and duties in which 
he is engaged. Besides a chemical apparatus, 
he has made and arranged a small but respecta- 
ble collection in mineralogy and geolog\% studies 
with which he is much acquainted; and he 
looks forward to the establishment of a com- 
plete school of medicine at Yale College, for 
which professorships in anatomy and botany are 
to be appointed, and in furtherance of Avhich he 
will himself deliver lectures on pharmacy, in 
addition to his lectures on chemistry. In die 



262 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



* chemical lecture -room is a pneumatic tub, con- 
structed by this gentleman, on very improved 
principles.* Mr. Silliman is understood to be 
preparing- for the press an account of his travels 
in Great Britain ; a work the publication of 
which is much to be desired. 

* A plate of this tub may be seen in the American 
Philosophical Transactions, vol. vi. parti, p. 104. 

The tub represented on that plate, varies considera- 
bly, however, in the details of arrangement, from the ap- 
paratus actually executed by Professor Silliman at New- 
haven. 

1. In that at Newhaven, the gas reservoirs stop 
about six inches short of the ends of the tub ; in the 
plate, they reach to the ends. 

2. In the plate, there are two reservoirs on one side 
of the well, and but one on the other ; in the original, 

there are two on each side. 

3. In the original, the hydrostatic bellows are placed 
at the ends of the tub ; — there is space enough left be- 
tween the bottom of the reservoirs and the bottom of 
the tub to allow of their action up and down ; — they pro- 
ject beneath the reservoirs, and the gas passes through 
a valve in the top, and close to the edge of the bellows : 
in the plate, the bellows are placed in the well ; — the 
space between the bottom of the reservoirs and the 
bottom of the tub, is nearly removed, and the gas is 
to be forced out, through a tube passing from the bot- 
tom of the bellows to the gas reservoirs ; — and this by a 
reversed action ; viz. by depressing the bellows. 

4. The levers, that work the bellows, appear, in the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. ^fiS 

The establishment of a college in Connecti- 
cut was first projected in the year 1698 ; and in 
1700 it was begun. Saybrook was originally 
proposed to be its seat ; but, in accommodation 
to President Pierson, the first president, it re- 
mained, during that gentleman's life, at Killing- 
worth. In 1707, it was removed to Saybrook ; 
and in 1716 to Newhaven. Here, in 1717, a 
college edifice of wood was erected, one hun- 
dred and seventy feet in front, and twenty -two 

plate, on the side of the tub ; — in the original, jit its 
ends. 

5. The tubes, which feed the blow-pipe, have in the 
original but one angle, and they point outward, from 
the tub ; in the plate, they have four or five angles, and 
point inward. 

The only particular in which Professor Silliman is of 
opinion that the arrangement in the plate is superior 
to his own, is that it dispenses with the space between 
the bottom of the reservoir and the bottom of the tub ; 
but he is also of opinion that this advantage is more 
than counterbalanced by the practical difficulty of 
making the bellows absolutely air-tight, which this ar- 
rangement requires, and the other does not; and by the 
difficulty of forcing the gas downward, through a mass 
of water resisting its escape, which demands a strong 
manual effort ; whereas, in his arrangement, the gas 
runs up, of its own accord. The professor has now 
formed an improved plan, by which he believes that all 
the difficulties will be completely obviated. 



254 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 

in depth. This was taken down in 1782 ; and 
the present edifices have risen since that date.* 

The Reverend Dr. Dwight, author of the 
Conquest of Canaan, and several other poems, 
the actual president of this college, is the suc- 
cessor of the late Reverend Dr. Ezra Stiles, 
who died in the year 1795. From President 
Dwight I experienced the utmost readiness 
in communicating information, accompanied by 
those urbane and obliging manners for which 
he is conspicuous. 

Betvv^een the years 1700 and 1793, the number 
of students that graduated in this university was 
two thousand two hundred and three ; of which 
nearly eight hundred received holy orders. 
The number of griiduates this year is sixty. 

* There is said to be a complete account of Yale 
College, from its institution to the year 1766, in the 
" Annals or History of Yale College, in Newhaven, 
" in the Colony of Connecticut, from the first founding 
" thereof, in the year 1700, to the year 1766: with an 
" Appendix, Sec. By Thomas Clap, A. M. President 
" of the said Colic ;^e." 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Connecticut — Schools. 

1 HAVE reserved for this place aii account 
of the common schools, as aiming to bring into 
one general view the institutions that have re- 
ference to school-learning. 

The laws ^^^hich relate to schools are not com- 
pulsory, except on the minorities in societies, 
which are bound by the acts of the majorities. 
To the societies, they only give power and as- 
sistance. 

The societies, which have their constitution 
primarily for tlie purposes of public worship, 
and in this view are called ecclesiastical societies, 
are entrusted with the management of their local 
schools, and in this view are called school so- 
cieties. 

It is provided, that each school society shall 
have power to make and collect rates, for the 
purposes of building and repairing school- 
houses, and supporting schools ; to divide the 
local limits of the society with school-districts ; 
and to place school-houses according to the 
judgment of its committee. The societies ap 
point their own school-masters, and their own 
visitors. The societies are corporations, aju.l 
have the powers usually incident. 

VOL. I. T 1 



2(35 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

The school-districts have power to take into 
their own hands what regards the building and 
maintenance of school-houses and other objects, 
and several of the lesser arrangements of accom- 
modation; and even to exclude from their schools 
the children of such as refuse to obey the will of 
the majority ; but they are otherwise in subordi- 
nation to the societies. The school-districts, 
therefore, may have meetings, clerks, treasurers 
and other officers.* 

For the assistance and encouragement of 
schools, the legislature has opened the pub- 
lic funds. It is provided, " That the treasurer 
" of this state shall annually deliver the sum of 
" txuo dollars upon every thousand dollars^ in the 
" list of each school society, and proportiona- 
" bly for lesser sums, out of the rate of each 
*' town, as the same shall be brought into the 
" state treasury, under the committee of such 
" school society, for the benefit of schools in 
*' such society ;" and that the interest of the 
funds provided by the sale of the Connecticut 
Reserve, calledalsothe Western Reserve, and New 
Connecticut, shall be distributed to the school 
societies, that shall conform to the provisions of 
the act, (that is, as we may presume, that 

* Statutes of Connecticut, Title cxli. Chap. 1,2, 3, 4. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 267 

shall do what the act empowers them to do,) 
each society according to its list ; but, u hether 
the distribution is to be m direct or in inverse 
ratio to the list, is not said. 

The sum annually accruing to the use of the 
schools, under the first of these pro^'isions, de- 
pends on the annual amount of the grand list. 
In 1801, it was said to be equal to twelve thou- 
sand dollars.* 

The amount of the interest of the fund, arising 
from the sale of the Connecticut Reserve, was 
then also seventy-two tnousand dollars ; making 
a sum total of eighty- four thousand dollars. If 
money received of the state by the school socie- 
ties is applied to any other purpose than that of 
maintaining the schools, it may be recovered on 
the suit of the controller. 

The public funds have been resorted to, for 
the maintenance of the schools, from the begin- 
ning of the government, as will be seen more 
expressly below ; and various appropriations have 
been made, at different periods. 

A French traveller calls the schools of Con- 
necticut, ecoles gratuites and Scales franches ; 
that is, free-schools and charity-schools ;t but, 

♦ Dwight's Oration. 

t Voyage dan Ics Etats Unis d'Amerique, par Lti 
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt. Tome v. p. 131. 



268 



I'KAVELS THllOUGH PARI" 



besides that the parents, of the children who fre- 
quent them, pay in common for their support, 
they pay also for each child a small sum per week, 
the amount of which is fixed by the society. 

The result of the system I shall give in the 
\\ ords of a native \\'riter, subscribing for myself 
lo their truth. His deduction will perhaps be 
thought to be large, but it is popular. " It 
" is an extraordinaiy fact, that in this state, 
'' a native inhabitant, either male or female, who 
" cannot both read and write, is a rare pheno- 
" menon. Further than this, almost every boy 
" is instructed not only in reading and writing, 
" but in arithmetic and geography. Hence 
" e\try industrious man, who possesses a fair 
" moral character, is qualified to fill many im- 
" portant offices in the town, county, and state."* 

At first, the maintenance of public schools 
was compulsory, and it was also compulsory on 
parents to send their children to the schools: 
now, we see that parents may be denied the' 
privilege of the schools; and the law only de- 
mands, that children, by one means or other, 
shall be taught and instructed.-\ 

The compulsion, however, to teach and in- 
strvict, may be said to include the rest ; for the 
establishment of schools, under the regulations, 

* Dwight's Oration, 
t Statutes, Title xxxiii. Chap. i. 



OF THE UXfTEU STATES. ^69 

and with the assistance of the legislature, affords 
the most convenient and most economical means 
of compliance. 

Nor is this compulsion at all unrequisite, if 
the design of the legislator is to be fulfilled. 
Masters, guardians, and e\en parents, Avill often 
be more attentive to their own views than to the 
interests of the children whom they govern; to Sii}- 
nothing of negligence, nor of that cor.tenipt of 
the arts of book-learning, in which the ig- 
norant are xtvy apt to indulge, nor of party feel 
ing, which enter even here. The profits 
which parents dcri\e from the labour of tlieir 
children, is often sufficient to prevent the allovv- 
ance of time for school education ; and even at 
the present day, -when the people at laige have 
acquired an habitual regard for common 
schools, there are still thousands of families in 
Connecticut, upon whom nothing but the law, 
and the public feeling, which has been raised 
and is supported by the law, can operate in 
this behalf. The difficulties encountered by the 
early lawgivers of the colony will presently ap- 
peal- ; and it will be seen, that to avcry their ob- 
ject, they were obliged to make that compromise, 
between what they considered the calls of pub- 
lic interest, and what were the calls of private cupi- 
dity. It was allowed, that the children should be 
withheld from the schools during the summei- 



270 TUA^ELb THIlULGll rAllT 

months, an indulgence which still continues, and 
but for which schools would find small favour. 

There is nothing in the late edition of the 
SUitutes which caiTies back the history of the 
school system beyond the year 1700 ; but, in 
the manuscript records of Connecticut, there are 
documents which show that it is at least as old 
as the Narragansett war, or the year 1675 ; and 
it is probable that it engaged the attention of 
the legislators of the colony from the beginning. 

The institution here developed must be re- 
garded as ^positive institution^ resting not upon 
abstract principles, but upon its own practical 
merits. In estim.ating its value, great regard 
must be had to the country in which it is found ; 
or in other words, to its bearings on the entire 
system of which it is a part. Considered in a 
broader view, its benefits may be pronounced 
to be, not indeed equivocal, but limited. 

'■'■ At a GeneTcd Court j held at Hartford] 
" May 8, 1690. 
" THIS court observing, that notwithstanding 
" the former orders, made for the education of 
" children and servants, there are many persons 
" unable to read the English tongue, and there- 
" by incapable to read the holy word of God, 
" or the good laws of this colony, which evil, 
" that it grow not further upon their majesties' 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 271 

*' subjects here, it is ordered, that all parents 
" and masters shall cause their respective chil- 
" di'en and servants, as they are capable, to be 
" taught to read distinctly the English tongue, 
*' and that the grand-jurymen in each town do, 
*' once in the year at least, visit each family 
" they suspect to neglect this order, and satisfy 
*' themselves whether all children under age, and 
" servants, in such suspected families, can read 
" well the English tongue, or be in good proce- 
*' dure to leani the same, or not ; and, if they 
*' find any such children or servants not taught 
" as their years are capable of, they shall return 
" the names of the parents or masters of the said 
" children, so untaught, to the next court, 
" where the said parents or masters shall be 
" fined twenty shillings for each child or servant 
" whose teaching is or shall be neglected, con- 
" trary to this order, unless it shall appear to the 
" satisfaction of the court, that the said neglect 
*' is not voluntaiy, but necessitated by the inca- 
" pacity of the pai^ents, or master, or their 
" neighbours, to cause them to be taught as 
*' aforesaid, or the incapacity of the said chil- 
^' dren or servants to learn."* 

* MS Records of Connecticut 



272 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

'''■ At a General Court at Hartford^ May 8, 
*' 1690. 

" WHEREAS this court, at the time of New 
" England's calamity, at the last Indian war, 
" being then under the sense of the Lord's dis- 
" pleasure against us, for the sins of the land, 
" made divers and sundry good and wholesome 
" laws, for the suppression of viceandencourage- 
" ment of virtue, in hopes of thorough reformation 
" of those God-provoking evils, bewayled by all 
" good men ; and whereas the sayd court, after 
" wards about the year 1684, for the further inforce- 
" ment of those laws, did make orders, direct- 
" ed to all inferior officers and ministers of 
" justice, for the due execution of the sayd 
" laws ; we finding (to our sorrow) that, instead 
" of the reformation sincerely aimed at, vice 
" and corruption of manners, in most places, ra- 
" ther abound and increase more than ever, and 
*' fearing, if the Lord, in his mercy and sove- 
" reign grace, prevent not, we may at length 
" prove an incoiTigible people, and so a genera- 
" tion of his wrath, without remedy, ripened 
*' for deserved desolation, which we are now 
" again, several ways, obvious to all, threatened 
" by cruel war and sickness, we do, therefore. 
" in the fear of God, once more, not only re- 
" commend it, to all magistrates and commis 
" sioners of the colony, in their several places, 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 273 

" that the sayd order be duly, constantly, and im- 
" partially executed, but also to that end doe 
" againe order and enjoyne all the selectmen, 
" constables and grand-jur) men, in the several 
" plantations, careful!}' to attend to the sayd or- 
" ders of 1684, in a diligent inquiry into, and 
" presentment of, all such breaches and trans- 
" gressions of the said reformation-laws, and 
" other the good imd wholesome laws of this co- 
" lony, that the government and nilers may be a 
" terror to evil doers, as in our first times, and 
" the Lord may yet take pleasure in us, as his 
" people : and we do further solemnly recom- 
" mend it to the ministers of our God, in their 
" several places, by their holy labours to fur- 
" ther what in them lyeththis great work of re- 
" formation, in a due witness- bearing against 
" the sins and growing evils of the times, where- 
"■ in we have no reason to doubt of their for- 
" wardness and holy zeal, and hope the Lord 
" will be with us and them. 

" This court, considering the necessity that 
" many parents or masters may be under, to 
" improve their children and servants in labour 
" for a great part of the year, doe order, that if 
" tlie towiie schooles, in the several towiies, 
" as distinctly from the free schools, be, ac- 
" cording to law, already established, kept up 
•' six months in each yeai', to teach to read and 

VOL. I. ^i "^ 



274 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &e 

" wi'ite the English tongiie, the said towne, so 
" keeping their respective schools, six moneths 
" in each year, to teach to read and Avrite the 
" English tongue, shall not be presentable or 
" fineable by law, fornot having a schoole ac« 
" cording to law, notwithstanding any fonner 
" law or order to the contrary."* 

The statute then goes on to direct, that there 
shall be two free -schools maintained, " for the 
*' teaching of such children as shall come there, 
" after they can first read the psalter." The 
schools, one of which is fixed at Hartford, the 
other at Newhaven, are to teach reading, wri- 
ting, arithmetic, and the Latin and Greek 
tongues. The masters are to be chosen by the 
magistrates and ministers, and to receive the sum 
of sixty pounds, in country pay ; thirty pounds 
to be paid out of the county -treasury, and 
the other thirty out of the school revenue, 
given by particular persons, or to be given 
to that use, so far as it will extend ; and the rest 
to be made up by the respective towns of Hart- 
ford and Newhaven. 

* MS Records of Connecticut. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Connecticut — Ancient Government ofNewhaven. 

SOME celebrity attaches itself to Newhaven, 
in consequence of the code of laws to which she 
had the honour of giving birth while an independ- 
ent colony, and which are opprobriously denomi- 
nated blue-laws. These are the laws sky blue, 
referred to in a poetical extract above ; and which 
are defined in prose, by a kindied authorit\% to 
be " a code of absurd and rigorous laws, framed 
" in the true spirit of puritimic fanaticism." It 
is to be observed, that these laws aie no longer 
in force ; the laws of Connecticut having super- 
seded them, at the union of the colonies, and no 
part of the la\^'-s of Newhaven having been en- 
grafted on the Connecticut code.* 

Of these laws, some specimens will be expect- 
ed by many readers, and may be agreeable to 
all ; but, in order to enter fully into their spirit, 
we ought previously to be acquainted with the 
spirit of the government whence they sprung. 
To this ei d, it ^vill be useful to peruse the pro- 
ces verbal of the constitution of government, 

* Statutes of Connecticut. See the AdvertiacmeiU. 



276 THAVELS THROUGH PART 

and of the manner in which the constitution was 
produced, and which is on record as follows : 

" THE 4th day of the 4th month, called June, 
" 1639, all the free planters assembled together 
*' in a general meeting, to consult about settling 
" civil government according to God, and the 
" nomination of persons that might be found, 
" by consent of all, fittest in all respects for the 
" foundation- work of a church, w^hich was in- 
" tended to be gathered inQuinipiack.* After so- 
" lemn invocation ofthe name ofGod in prayer, for 
" the presence and help of his spirit and grace in 
" those weighty businesses, they were reminded 
" of the business whereabout they met, viz. for 
" the establishment of such civil order as might be 
" most pleasing unto God, and for the choosing 
" the fittest men for the foundation- work of a 
" church to be gathered. For the better ena- 
" bling them to discern the mind of God, and 
" to agree accordingly concerning the establish- 
" ment of civil order, Mr. John Davenport 
" propounded divers queries to them publicly, 
" praying them to consider seriously, in the 
" presence and fear of God, the weight of the 
" business they met about, and not to be rash or 
" slight in giving their votes to things they un- 
" derstood not; but to digest fully and tho- 

* Quinipiac, Quinnipauge or Quiiinipioke, is the In- 
dian name of Newhavcn. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 277 

'' roughly what should be propounded to them, 
" and without respect to men, as they should be 
" satisfied and persuaded in their own minds, to 
" give their answers in such sort as they would 
" be willing should stand upon record for poste- 
" rity. 

" This being earnestly pressed by Mr, Daven- 
" port, Mr. Robert Newman was intreated to 
" WTite, in characters, and to read distinctly and 
" audibly in the hearing of all the people, what 
" was propounded and accorded on, that it might 
" appear, that all consented to matters propound- 
" ed, according to words written by him. 

" Qiiery I. Whether the scriptures do hold 
" forth a perfect rule for the direction and go- 
" vernment of all men in all duties which they are 
" to perform to God and men, as well in fami- 
" lies and commonwealth, as in matters of the 
" church ? 

" Query II. Whereas there was a covenant 
" solemnly made by the whole assembly of free 
" planters of this plantation, the first day of ex- 
" traordinary humiliation, which we had after 
" we came together, that (as in matters that con- 
" cern the gathering and ordering of a church, 
" so likewise in all public officers which concern 
" civil order, as choice of magistrates and ofii- 
" cers, making and repealing laws, di\ iding A- 
" lotments of inheritance, and all thmgs of like 
" nature) we would all of us be ordered by those 



278 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



'' rules which the scripture holds forth to us, 
" which covenant was called a plantation cove- 
" nant^ to distinguish it from a church covenant, 
" which could not at that time be made, a 
" church not being then gathered, but was de- 
" ferred till a church might be gathered, accord- 
" ing to God :-— It was demanded, whether all the 
" free planters do hold themselves bound by that 
" covenant, in all businesses of that nature which 
" are expressed in the covenant, to submit them- 
" selves to be ordered by the rules held forth in 
" the scripture ? 

" Query III. Those who have desired to be re- 
■•' ceived as free planters, and are settled in the 
" plantation, with a purpose, resolution and de- 
" sire, that they may be admitted into church- 
'' fellowship, according to Christ, as soon as God 
" shall fit them thereunto, were desired to ex- 
" press it, by holding up hands ? 

" Accordingly, all did express this to be their 
" desire and purpose, by holding up their hands 
" twice, viz. at the proposal of it, and after, 
" when these written words were read unto 
" tliem. 

" Query W. All the free planters were called 
" upon to express, whether they held themselves 
" bound to establish such civil order as might 
" best conduce to the securing of the purity 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 279 

" and peace of the ordinance to themselves and 
*' their posterity, according to God ? 

Query V. Whether free burgesses shall be 
" chosen out of the church members, they that 
" are in the foundation- work of the church being 
" actually free burgesses, and to choose to them- 
" selves out of the like estate of church-fellow- 
" ship, and the power of choosing magistrates 
" and officers from among themselves, and the 
" power of making and repealing laws, according 
" to the word; and the dividing of inheritances, 
" and deciding of differences that may ai'ise, 
" and all the businesses of like nature i\xe. to be 
" transacted by those free burgesses ? 

" This was put to vote and agreed unto by 
" lifting up of hands twice, as in the former it 
" was done. Then one man stood up, and ex- 
*' pressed his dissenting from the rest, in part ; 
" yet granting, 1. That magistrates should be 
" men fearing God ; 2. That the church is 
" the company where ordinarily such men may 
" be expected ; 3. That they that choose them 
" ought to be men fearing God ; — only at this he 
*' stuck, that free pkmtcrs ought not to give this 
" power out of their hands. Another stood up, 
" and answered, that nothing was done, but 
" with their consent. The former answered, 
«' that all the free planters ought to resume this 
"■ power into their own hands again, if things 



280 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" were not orderly carried. Mr. Theophilus 
" Eaton answered, that in all places they choose 
" committees in like manner. The companies 
" in London choose the liveries, by whom the 
" public magistrates are chosen. In this the 
" rest are not wronged ; because they expect, in 
" time, to be of the livery themselves, and to 
" have the same power. Some others intreated 
" the former to give his arguments and reasons, 
" whereupon he dissented. He refused to do it, 
" and said, they might not rationally demand it, 
" seeing he let the vote pass on freely, and did 
" not speak till after it was past, because he would 
" not hinder what they agreed upon. Then, Mr. 
" Davenport, after a short relation of some 
" former passages between them two about this 
" question, prayed the company that nothing 
" might be concluded by them on this weighty 
" question, but what themselves were persuaded 
" to be agreeing with the mind of God ; and they 
" had heard what had been said since the vo- 
" ting : he intreated them again to consider of 
" it, and put it again to vote, as before. Again 
" all of them, by holding up their hands, did 
" show their consent as before. And some of 
" them confessed, that whereas they did waver 
" before they came to the assembly, they were 
" now fully convinced that it is the mind of 
" God. One of them said, that in the morning 
9. 



OF THE UNITED STATKS. 281 

before he came, reading Dent. xvii. 15. he was 
convinced at home. Another said, that he 
came doubting to the assembly ; but he blessed 
God, by what had been said, he was now fully 
satisfied, that the choice of burgesses out of 
church members, and to entrust those with the 
power before spoken of is according to the 
mind of God revealed in the scriptures. All 
having spoken their apprehensions, it was 
agreed upon, and Mr. Robert Newman was 
desired to write it as an order whereunto eve- 
ry one, that hereafter should be admitted here 
as planters, should submit, and testify the same 
by subscribing their names to the order : 
namely, that church members only shall be- 
free burgesses, and that they only shall choose 
magistrates and officers among themselves, to 
have power of transacting all the public civil 
affairs of this plantation ; of making and re- 
pealing laws, dividing of inheritances, deci- 
ding of differences that may arise, and doing 
all things and businesses of like nature. 
" This being thus settled, as a fundamental 
agreement concerning civil government, Mr. 
Davenport proceeded to propound something 
to consideration about the gathering of a 
church, and to prevent the blemishing of the 
first beginnings of the church work, Mr. Da- 
venport advised, that the names of such as 
VOL. I. ' \ n 



282 TRAVELS THUOUGH PART 

" were to be admitted might be publicly pro- 
" pounded, to the end that they who were most 
" approved might be chosen ; for the town be- 
" ing cast into several private meetings, where- 
" in they that lived nearest together gave their 
" accounts, one to another, of God's gracious 
" work upon them, and prayed together, and 
" conferred, to their mutual edification, sundry 
" of them had knowledge one of another ; and 
" in every meeting some one was more approved 
" of all than anv other : for this reason and to 
" prevent scandiils, the \\4iole company was en- 
" treated to consider whom they found fittest to 
" nominate for this work. 

" Queri/ Yl. Whether are you all willing and 
" do agree in this, that twelve men be cJiosen, 
" that their fitness for the foundation- work may 
" be tried; however there maybe more named, 
" yet it may be in their power, who are chosen, to 
" reduce them to twelve, and that it be in the 
" power of those twelve to choose out of them- 
" selves seven, that shall be most approved of 
" by the major part, to begin the church ? 

" This was agreed upon by the consent of all, 
" as was expressed by holding up of hands ; and 
" that so many as should be thought fit for the 
" foundation- work of the church, shall be pro- 
" pounded by the plantation, and written down 
" and pass vvithout exception, unless they had 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



283 



"given public scandal or oilence. Yet so, as in 
" case of public scandal or offence, every one 
" should have liberty to propound their excep- 
" tion, at that time, publicly against any man, 
'' that should be nominated, ^vhen all their names 
'' should be writ dovni. But, if the offence were 
'' private, that men's names might be tendered^ 
'' so many as ^vere offended were entreated to 
" deal with the offender privately; and, if he gave 
" not satisfaction, to bring the matter to the 
" twelve, that they might consider of it impar- 
" tially, and in the fear of God." 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Connecticut — jYfnvhnven Blue-laxvs. 

THROUGH the kindness of a gentleman 
in Newhaven, an opportunity was afforded me of 
inspecting the manuscript records of the colony, 
including its ancient laAVs. My time, however, 
was short, and the manuscripts were long; 
so that I made little use of the ad^'antage, and 
I am now indebted to a modern historiim for 
the extracts that are subjoined. But, this 
author gives us the sense, and not the words, 
a mode of transcription very little satisfactor}- ; 
a mode, in the ado])tion of which a writer should 



284 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

rarely trust himself, and in which he is rarely to 
be trusted. 

As to the substance of the specimen sub- 
joined, a part will discover the little subordina- 
lion to the mother country, acknowledged from 
the first, by the dominion of Newhaven ; a part 
is distinguished by unnecessary rigour ; a part 
by ignorance and injustice ; a part is common to 
all the codes, ancient and modern, in New En- 
gland ; a part is unexceptionable ; and only n 
small remaindef is strictly characteristic of the 
particular persons from whom it came. 

" THE governor and magistrates, convened in 
" general assembly, are the supreme power, un- 
" der God, of this independent dominion. 

" From the determination of the assembly no 
" appeal shall be made. 

" The governor is amenable to the voice of 
" the people. 

" The governor shall have only a single vote 
" in determining any question ; except a casting 
" vote, when the assembly mny be equally di- 
" vided. 

" The assembly of the people shall not be 
" dismissed by the governor, but shall dismiss 
" itself. 

" Conspirac}' against this dominion shall be 
" punished with death. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 285 

'' Whoever says there is a power and jurisdic- 
'' tion above and over this dominion, shall suffer 
" death and loss of propertv. 

" Whoever attempts to change or overturn 
'' this dominion shall suffer death. 

" The judges shall determine controversies 
" without a jury. 

" No one shall be a freeman, or give a vote, 
" unless he be converted, and a member in full 
" communion of one of the churches allowed in 
" this dominion. 

" No man shall hold any office, who is not 
" sound in the faith, and faithful to this domi- 
" nion ; and whoever gives a vote to such a per- 
" son, shall pay a fine of ;Cl. For a second of- 
" fence, he shall be disfranchised. 

" Each freeman shall swc^lY by the blessed God 
" to bear true allegiance to this dominion, and 
" that Jesus is the only king. 

" No quaker or dissenter from the established 
" worship of this dominion, shall be allowed to 
" give a vote for the election of magistrates, or 
" any officer. 

" No food or lodging shall be afforded to a 
'' quaker, Adamite or other heretic. 

" If any person turns quaker, he shall be ba- 
" nished, and not suffered to retum, but upon 
•' pain of deaih. 



236 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" No priest shall abide in the dominion : he 
*' shall be banished, and suffer death on his re- 
" turn. Priests may be seized by any one with- 
'' out a wan'ant. 

" No one to cross a river, but with an autho- 
''*■ rised ferryman. 

" No one shall run on the sabbath-day, or 
'^ walk in his garden or elsewhere, except reve- 
" rently to and from meeting. 

" No one shall travel, cook victuals, make 
" beds, sweep house, cut hair, or shave, on the 
" sabbath- day. 

" No woman shall kiss her child on the sab- 
" bath or fasting- day. 

" The sabbath shall begin at sunset on Satur- 
"' day. 

" To pick an ear of corn growing in a neigh- 
" hour's garden, shall be deemed theft. 

" A person accused of trespass in the night 
" shall be judged guilty, unless he clear himself 
" by his oath. 

" When it appears that an accused has confe- 
" derates, and he refuses to discover them, he 
" may be racked. 

" No one shall buy or sell lands without per- 
" mission of the selectmen. 

" A drunkard shall have a master appointed 
" by the selectmen, who are to debar him from 
" the liberty of buying and selling. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 287 

" Whoever publishes a lie to the prejudice of 
" his neighbour, shall sit in the stocks, or be 
" whipped fifteen stripes. 

" No minister shall keep a school. 

" Eveiy ratable person, who refuses to pa)' 
*' his proportion to the support of the minister of 
" the 10 wn or parish, shall be fined by the court 
" ^^2, and ^4 every quarter, until he or she shall 
" pay the rate to the minister. 

" Men-stealers shall suifer death. 

" Whoever wears clothes trimmed with gold, 
" silver, or bone lace, above two shillings by the 
" yard, shall be presented by the grand jurors, 
" and the selectmen shall tax the offender at 
" £300 estate. 

" A debtor in prison, swearing he has no 
" estate, shall be let out, and sold, to make sa- 
" tisfaction. 

" Whoever sets a fire in the woods, and it 
" burns a house, shall suifer death ; and persons 
" suspected of this crime shall be imprisoned, 
" without benefit of bail. 

" Whoe\xT brings cards or dice into this do- 
" minion shall pay a fine of £5. 

" No one shall read common-prayer, keejj 
" Christmas or saint-days, make minced pics, 
'' dance, play cards, or play on any instrument 
" of music, except the drum, trumpet and jews- 
" harp. 



288 



TRAVELS TlUtOL'GH PART 



" No gospel minister shall join people in mar- 
" riage ; the magistrates only shall join in mar- 
" riage, as they may do it with less scandal to 
" Christ's church. 

" When parents refuse their children conve- 
" nient marriages, the magistrates shall deter- 
" mine the point. 

" The selectmen, on finding children igno- 
" rant, may take them away from their parents, 
" and put them into better hands, at the expense 
" of their parents. 

" Fornication shall be punished by compel- 
" ling marriage, or as the court may think pro- 
" per. 

" Adultery shall be punished with death. 

" A man that strikes his wife shall pay a fine 
" of ;^10 ; a woman that strikes her husband 
'' shall be punished as the court directs, 

" A wife shall be deemed good evidence 
" against her husband. 

" No man shall court a maid in person, or by 
" letter, without first obtaining consent of her pa- 
" rents; £5 penalty for the first oftence ; £10 
" for the second ; and, for the third, imprison- 
" ment during the pleasure of the court. 

" Married persons must live together, or be 
" imprisoned. 

" Every male shall have his hair cut round ac- 
" cording to a cap." 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



289 



" Of such sort were the laws made by the peo- 
" pie of Newhaven, previous to their incorpora- 
" tion with Saybrook and Hartford colonies by 
*' the charter. They consist of a vast muhitude, 
" and were very properl}^ termed Blue Laws ; 
" i. e. bloody laws ; for they were all sanctified 
" with excommunication, confiscation, fines, ba- 
" nishment, whippings, cutting oft' the ears, 
" burning the tongue, and death."* 

With respect to the epithet blue^ I believe the 
writer is mistaken, when he explains it by 
bloody ; or, at least, that in whatever sense it was 
or is applied to the laws of Newhaven, its origi- 
nal import was no more \him presbyterian or pu- 
ritan. It appears to have been so used in Scot- 
land, where it originated. 

* A General History of Connecticut, Sec. By a 
Gentleman of the Province. Second edition, London, 
1788. The author of this work is now commonly 
known to be the Rev. Dr. Samuel Peters. 



VOL. I. o 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Connecticut — New London, 

TILL lately, the entire country, between the 
Connecticut and the Thames, was comprised 
within two towns, of which the western is called 
Lyme, and the eastern New London. This 
country, over which I passed on the seventeenth 
of June, presents little beside a succession of 
rocky hills. The soil, however, is strong, and 
very profitable to the dairy farmer. In these si- 
tuations, moisture and consequent verdure are 
preserved, long after those of more favourable 
aspects are parched with drought. Early 
droughts are the misfortunes which, in this coun- 
try, the farmer usually has to fear ; but the pre- 
sent season is universally remarked, not for its 
dryness, but its too abundant rains. 

Lyme is said to have been called by the In- 
dians Nehantic. Its settlement commenced 
about the year 1644 ; and it was incorporated as 
a town in 1667. In 1790, it contained 3,859 
inhabitants. It is this year rated in the grand 
list at 79,737 dollars and 50 cents, and appears 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, kc 291 

to feed considerablv more tliau eio;ht thousaiKl 
sheep. It is divided into three societies, ex- 
clusive of a society of anabaptists, and another 
of separatists^ or of the new light y whieli it ei- 
ther novv^ does, or lately did, contain. The so- 
ciety or parish in the northern part of L} nic 
abuts upon East Haddam ; and I undersiand 
that a new town is projected in this quarter, t«) 
be taken out of East Haddam and Lyme, and 
named, iii grateful memory of its parents, Hud- 
lyme. 

Having crossed the Connecticut at Sajbrook 
Ferry, the direct road to New London \vas b} 
the bridge that has been thrown over Rope-ferr) 
river ; but this bridge, like the others, having been 
carried away by the floods or freshes, here called 
freshets, I tra-vxlled by what is called the upper 
road. The whole" distance is about nineteen miles. 

After descending into a small, but pleasant 
valley, where, for a short space the rocky surface 
is exchanged for sand, the road rises again 
into a lofty region, of which the eastern brov,' 
surveys New London, its harbour, and Fort 
Griswold on the opposite heights. 

Nothing can be said of the luxuriance of the 
prospect that is here presented, of its lawns or 
shades, its meadows, glades or groves; but 
it has a wild majesty and greatness, which, 
seeing it, as T did, under serene and splendid 



292 1 JiAVELS THIIOUGH PAllT 

skits, impressed me strongly with its beauty. 
Rocks jut forth on every side ; or, lying in innu- 
merable masses, whiten all the hills, as if with 
flocks of sheep ; little wood is to be seen ; and 
the whole surface is broken, but the expanse is 
large, the level divei'siiied, and there is a 
magnificent breadth of water under the eye. 
In the iront-ground, at our feet, are the build- 
ings of New London, among which the house 
of General Huntington is an embellishment. 
Fort Griswold, in Groton, on the other side of 
the ri\er, shows its neglected and decaying bas- 
tions. 

Descending the hill that is above the High- 
street, I proceeded to Poole's Hotel, where, 
owing to the county-couit, which was then sit- 
ting, the company was lai'ge. 

New London, that is, the New London of 
which I am now speaking, is a city, formed of 
part of New London, the town : the town is 
the county-town of the county of New London. 
The port of New London is a port of entry. 

The town occupies the western shore of Pe- 
quod Harbour, long since called the River 
Thames : the names handed down from the In- 
dians are Mameag and Toiuawog, by both which 
names it is occasionally described by historians. 
It was first colonized in 1666. That part of the 
ancient town, which lies on Long- island Sound, 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 29" 

is now disjoined from the remainder, and dcnon\i- 
nated Waterford. The population, in 1790, was 
4,600; and in 1800, 5,150. The grand hst, for 
the present year, is 44,209 dollars and 52 cents. 
The number of sheep is only twent\\ 

The city, \\'hich was incorporated in 1784, 
contains two churches; one congi'egational, and 
one of the church of England. 

The county court-house is in a very ruinous 
state ; and idle boys and others are in the con- 
stant practice of making it more so, by break- 
ing its windows. All these buildings arc of 
wood. 

The private houses are in general less sho\7}'^ 
than those of Newhaven ; but several of them 
are substantial and commodious. A stone house, 
the residence of the Hon. Judge Perkins, is one of 
the few that escaped the flames that ^^'cre set to 
the village, by the troops under General Arnold, 
in 1781. General Huntington's house is in that 
style of architecture called the cottage style, or 
cottage 07'nee. The number of houses may be 
about three hundred ; but many of them are 
small, and inhabited by poor families. 

Beside the churches and court-house already 
mentioned, the other public buildings are a 
freemason's hall, and a county-gaol and 
poor-house. In the latter, of which the lu- 



294 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

raiigemeiits are excellent, there are twenty 
poor. 

The city is abundantly supplied with fish, of 
which, at this season, lobsters and various other 
kinds, are kept alive in lears or wells, attached 
to the whaiis. At a large breakfast- table at the 
hotel, I counted eleven dishes of fish, placed al- 
ternately with as many dishes of butcher's meat. 

The exports of the district of New London, 
for the year ending September 30th, 1794, 
amounted to 557,453 dollars ; and among the 
items were a thousand mules, shipped for the 
West Indies. 

The value of the shipping belonging to New- 
London, on the 16th of May, 1807, esti- 
mated at fifty dollars per ton, amounted to four 
hundred and forty-eight thousand, eight hundred 
and five dollars. 

Fifty-five smacks, of the estimated value of a 
thousand dollars each, belonged at the same time 
to the district^ and were employed in the fish- 
eries. The value of the fish taken, on an aver- 
age by each smack, is 1,550 dollars annually. 

Value of fish taken by fifty-five smacks, for 
one year, g 23,250, 

Do. vessels in the employ, 55,000. 

The vessels licensed for the fisheries, in the 
district of New London, in 1806, were of from 
fourteen tons to one hundred and seventy-seven. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 295 

The dried fish, taken by the vessels belong- 
ing to this district, and fitted out last season, 
amounted to 29,272 quintals, and was worth 
117,088 dollars. 

The following vessels and cargoes, sailed 
for Europe tlie last year, from the district 
of New London : cargoes taken in at Green 
Island : viz. 
Ship Ann Williams, 

valued at g 24,000 

Cargo 5,780 quintals offish, 

at 58 4 23,120 

Provisions and one month's 

wages, 1 ,000 

48,120 



Brig Friendship, 




4,000 


Cargo 1800 quintals 


of fish, 




at 4 dollars. 




7,200 


50 barrels of oil, 




700 


Provisions, &.c. 




500 



Brig Harlequin, 4,000 

Cargo 2,400 quintals of fish, 9,600 
Provisions, &c. 550 



Brig Dolphin, 5,500 

Caigo 2,480 quintals of fish, 9,920 
Provisions, &c. 560 



12,400 



14,150 



15,980 



296 TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 

Schooner Thetis, 3,000 

Cargo 1,100 quintals of fish, 4,400 
Provisions, &c. 450 



Schooner Phoebe, 3,200 

Cargo 1,200 quintals of fish, 4,800 
Provisions, &c. 350 



Ship Franklin, 6,500 

Cargo 3,300 quintals of fish, 13,200 
Provisions, &c. 800 



7,850 



8,350 



20,500 



Total value of vessels, 

cargoes, &c. * 2127,350 

* These statements, and the schedule that follows 
them, were obtamed through the favour of a gentleman 
by whom they were collected for the information of the 
general assembly ; but I am apprehensive that there 
Is some mistake in the copying, as to the amount of 
tonnage for 1795, as it now appears in the schedule.— 
From a certificate, appended to the account of the ves- 
sels and cargoes for 1806, it appears that parts of the' 
ships Franklin and Ann Williams were owned in 
New York, with parts of their cargoes. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



297 



Schedule of exports and imports — district of 
New London, for the year 1807. 



~ a 


O 

O "^ 

1^ 


o 


mount of imports. 




C3 
C 

C 

o 

*-> 

o 

c 

3 

o 
£ 


.s 

-a 

O 


4) 
(A 

_o 

D 

4) 
(J ~ 


OS 


> 


> 


> 


< 




< 






1 


146 


577,973 


39 85 


86,368, 


17 


10, 


39 


2, 26 


1795 


162 


850,076 


89 


86,787, 


63 








1796 


113 


433,373 


80 


94,218, 


82 








1797 


123 


497,148 


76 


96,223, 


01 








1798 


148 


624,100 


88 


97,597, 


82 








1799 


163 


654,419 


93 


96,012, 


00 


12,261, 05 


1800 


150 


750,634 


93 


78,475, 


17 








1801 


150 


632,246 


99 


94,644, 


04 








1802 


135 


603,811 


63 


68,171, 


85 








1803 


148 


722,939 


81 


112,745, 


44 








1804 


130 


725,722, 


94 100 


156,635, 


48 








1805 


142 


814,868, 


19 109 


214,918, 


25 


12,823, 81 


1806 



John Huntington, Collector. 
Collector's Office, JVew-Lofidon, 1807. 

VOL. I. pp 



298 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

The harbour is said to be large, safe and com- 
modious, with five fathoms water. It is defend- 
ed by a stockaded fort, on the same side with 
and a httle below the city, called Fort Trumbull, 
and garrisoned with a sergeant's guard by 
the United States. Fort Griswold is neglect- 
ed, but is still in a state to admit of a speedy re- 
pair. It consists in a brick barrack, defended 
by a ditch and four bastions, inclosing a spa- 
cious ai'ea. 

On the beach, in Waterford, opposite Fisher's 
Island, some expensive salt works have been 
erected, by jVIr. Fennel, an Englishman, who, 
having made large gains in the United States, by 
the display of his powers as a tragedimi, hoped 
much from investing them in this establishment. 
Much salt is made from sea- water, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Boston, by a simple though some- 
what tedious process ; but ?vlr. Fennel had 
employed an apparatus, considerably more ex- 
pensive, but from which he hoped to derive a 
proportionate degree of benefit for himself and 
others. Unhappily, a variety of pecuniary diffi- 
culties arose among the partners; and to these 
were added some serious devastations of the re- 
sistless ocean, breaking in storms upon the sands. 
These causes, uniting themselves together, have 
occasioned Mr. Fennel the total loss of the 
large sums of money which he had risked. 



OF TITE UNITED STATES, 299 

I found this gentleman at Ncav London, and 
accompanied him on a visit to the scene of his 
misfortunes. Tlie invention on which he had 
relied is this : salt is to be made from sea- water, 
by the aid of two or three contrivances, and de- 
pendent on evaporation by the solar heat. In 
what way this evaporation is usually forwarded, 
I shall hereafter have occasion to describe ; but 
that which was conceived and reduced to prac- 
tice by a Mr. Fennel, consists in alternately 
sinking and raising by machinery, cylinders of 
common fishing- nets, in tubs or vats, filled 
with sea-water. The water being thus con- 
tinually moved, and even lifted into the atmos- 
phere, on the multiplied surfaces of the meshes, 
necessarily evaporates with increased rapidity. 
Other circumstances, however, may perhaps be 
less favourable in this, than in the common 
method, and the difference of expense in the ap- 
paratus is great. 

Be this as it may, Mr. Fennel and his partners 
had erected nineteen of these tubs or vats, 
which, with nineteen wheels, of twelve feet di- 
ameter each, and various other works, -svere 
erected on the beach. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Connecticut — Montville — Moheagan Lands — 
Nonvich — Lebanon. 

LEAVING unexplored the towns of Groton 
and Stonington, which stretch from the TJiames 
to the frontier of Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations, but of which I saw reason to believe 
that the description would very nearly agree 
with that of Lyme and New London ; — namely, 
that they consist in tracts of hilly and rocky 
pastures, and that the inhabitants divide their 
cares between the ocean, the fisheries and 
the soil; — leaving these, I went up to the banks 
of the Thames, toward Norwich, the fifth and 
last of the cities of Connecticut, as they have 
happened to fall under my review. 

Between New London and Norwich, is a tract 
of land, the last remnant of territory, left to the 
last remnant of a people once numerous and 
warlike here, and called Moheagan Indians. The 
land is a narrow slip, lying along the banks of the 
Thames, above the mouth of Stony Brook, and 
between the former river and the town of Mont- 
ville ; and containing two thousand seven hun- 
himdred acres. 



TRA'\'ELS THROUGH PART, &c. 3QJ 

In 1633, the Indian population of Connecti- 
cut appears to have been equal to eight persons 
for each square mile. The Mohcagans, as well 
as the other nations, were numerous in this pro- 
portion. In 1643, Uncas, their chief^ fought the 
Narragansetts, on the Sachem's Plain, in Norwich, 
with from five to six hundred followers. In 1774, 
an enumeration of the Moheagans made them 
amount to one thousand six hundred and sixty- 
three souls. In 1797, the survivors were sup- 
posed to be four hundred. Those now remain- 
ing, on the Moheagan Lands, are sixty-nine in 
number ; but a part of their proper population 
emigrated, some time since, under the charge of 
Mr. Occome, a Moheagan preacher, to Brother- 
ton, an Indian village adjoining Stock bridge, in 
New York. But the entire population of Bro- 
therton was stated, more thim ten years ago, at 
only a hundred and fifty souls. 

The sixty-nine souls remaining comprehend, 
for the most pait, very aged persons, a\ idows and 
fatherless children. The young men go to sea, 
and die. The community is under the care of 
guardians, or superintendants, appointed by the 
assembly; and is further governed by legislative 
provisions, designed both to protect it, and to 
prevent its necessities from becomhig burden- 
some to the public. A part of the lands arc oc- 
cupied by the Indians themselves, and a part by 



302 TRAVELS THnoUGH PART 

their tenants ; tlie rents going into a common 
fund, from which they derive individually a small 
annual sum in money. A part of the lands late- 
ly belonging to them have been sold, under the 
authority of the legislature, and the proceeds ap- 
plied, in part to building wooden houses for their 
accommodation, and in part to the establishment 
of a small permanent fund. The houses, which 
contain two rooms each, several of the o^vnerslet 
to white people, contenting themselves with 
wigwams, or more properl}' with huts ; for the 
hut of the Moheagan, in his modem indigence, 
is not to be comparecl with the wigwam of his 
forefathers. Mr. Haughton, one of the guar- 
dians of the Indians, did me the favour to carry 
me to several of their houses, and over their 
lands. 

Montville was formerly a part of New Lon- 
don. It has one ecclesiastical and school society 
within itself, in which there ai'e nine schools j 
and two others, of which parts belong to the ad- 
joining towns. New Sdlem extends into Bozra. 
Almost the whole population is united in the 
congregational persuasion in matters of religion, 
and in federalism in politics. The soil is favour- 
able to grazing, and the produce sent out of the 
town is princip<illy butter and cheese. Its average 
crops of ry^e amount to thiity-live bushels per 
acre. The road, from New London, which is 



OF THE UN'ITED STATES. or,.-. 

exceedingly good, runs either through woods, 
or along the edge of lofty banks, that overlook the 
river. By the way side, one or two solitary 
grave-stones present themselves on the tlu-ms. 
Opposite Montville, in Groton, is a rocky moun- 
tain ; a cavern in which bears the name of Un- 
cas's Chair. It is the place of shelter to which 
he fled, on a surprise by the Pequots. When 
the danger was over, an ancestor of Mr. Haugh- 
ton's went over the river to him in a canoe, and 
brought him safely back to his domain. In gra- 
titude, he presented his deliverer with a tract of 
land. 

What is called the Thames is no other than 
the lower portion of the Willamantic, Avhich, 
flowing out of a small, but deep lake or pond, 
in Staftbrd, is joined at Norwich by the Yantic, 
a river there called the little river. At the same 
place, the Willamantic is called the Shetuc- 
ket. Before its confluence with the Yantic 
it is of no magnitude ; but, immediately at this 
point, it is able to maintain a sea-port, that is 
possessed of from four to five thousand tons 
of shipping. 

The city of Norwich comprehends a certain 
portion of the town lying on the banks of the na- 
vigable part of the river and including the so- 
ciety of Chelsea, otherwise called Norwich- 
landing. It was incorporated in 1784; and, in 



304 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

common with almost all the other settlements in 
the United States, its advance, since the year 
1792, has been rapid. A neck of land, of great 
value at the present moment, was bought, only a 
few years since, for a quantity of lumber, which 
had been refused a purchaser at the price 
of six dollars. Ship-buiiding is one of the em- 
ployments here ; and there are usually four or 
five vessels on the stocks. Many mahufactures 
are pursued in the town and city ; such as of 
stockings, clocks and watches, buttons, earthen- 
ware, chocolate and wire. The rivers abound 
in mill-seats, many of which are occupied by 
oil, fulling, gi'ist and saw-mills, and iron-works. 
The public buildings are an academy or gram- 
mar-school, one congregational church, and one 
of the church of England. The church of En- 
gland was formerly maintained by the society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel. The con- 
gregationalists pay no tax for the support of their 
clergyman, the funds for that purpose being 
drawn from the rents received for the pews. 
This city, like that of New London, lies on one 
of the great roads between New York and Bos., 
ton. 

Contisfuous to the wharfs are two scenes of ro- 

mantic beauty, one on the right and the other on 

the left : on the left, a lofty knoll, overlooking the 

river, above and below, and covered with the 

4 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 3Q5 

dwarf flowering laurel kalmla angustifolia.^ 
Down the river is the port, with its shipping ; 
and up, the verdant and shady banks of the Slic- 
tucket, over which there is a bridge, a hundred 
aiid twent)^-four feet in length. The entire Uoor- 
ing is rested on the abutments : no piers nortressels, 
placed in the channel, being found able to resist 
the floods that swell this river in the spring. On 
the knoll, the inhabitants assemble, on their ho- 
liday of the Fourth of July, or Independent or 
Independence Day. 

On the right, are the Hills of the little river, 
ten or t\\^elve feet deep, and having much variety 
and beaut}'. At their feet are scA'eral of the 
holes common in such situations, and which ai*e 
produced by the circular motion of stones, pro- 
longed for ages. If a stone happens to find a 
lodgment on a bed of rock, the torrent, in con- 
tinually attempting to drive it onward, only com- 

* The honey, colicctcd by bees from the flower of this 
\'egetable, is said to be of a poisonous quality. — De- 
coctions of the leaves have been tried with success in 
diarrhoea ; but too strong a dose induces vertigo. Itch 
is cured by an external application of the same. Dr. 
Thomas's Inaugural Dissertation. Ptdladelphia^ 1802. 
Scald head has been cured by an ointment prepared 
from the leaves. /Jr. Barton's Collrctions for a Ma- 
teria Medica. It is pretended that death has followed 
on eating the flesh of pheasants that have fed on the 
leaves of the broad-leaved laurel or calico-trcc, kal- 
mia latifolia. New York IMed. Rcpos. \''o!. i. 

VQL. I. q,q 



^^Q TRAVELS THKOUGII ¥AKV 

municates a rotatory motion, by means of which 
it soon weai-s for itself a deeper and securer cell. 
Within this cell, the continued motion occa- 
sions the stone to hollow out a still wider 
circle, and still deeper cavity. Some of the 
cavities, at these falls, are said to be six feet 
deep. They are often found in rocks that are 
below cataracts, though the water nevet rises to 
their level but in the time of floods ; and often in 
those, to the level of which the water, robbed of 
its ancient volume, no longer rises at all. 

On a woody eminence adjacent, where I was 
led by Mr. Perkins, of Norwich, (a gentleman 
to \vhose cordial manners and disposition I am 
not in this instance only indebted,) are the graves 
of the Moheagans. The spot, which is nearly 
overgrown with trees and shrubs, overhangs the 
river, conformably with the constant practice of 
the Indians, who always bury on the banks of a 
river, or on the margin of lakes or the ocean. Se- 
veral mossy stones, hewn, decorated and in- 
scribed, by English artists, distinguish thegi'aves 
of particulai's ; but especially of the Uncases, 
members of the family in which was the heredi- 
tary chieftainship, but which is now extinct. On 
one, the inscription begins with Here lies the 
second and beloved son of his father^ John Uncas, 
&c. — another has this ; In memory of Elizabeth 



OF THE UNITED STATES. jq^ 

Joquib, the daughter of Mahomet, great grand- 
child of the first Uncas, Sachem of the Mohea- 
gaiis^ who died July 5, 1750, aged oo years. — 
But this father of Elizabeth Joquib, and great 
grandcliild of the first Uncas, was surely never 
baptized; he had else been named Sedi or 
Ebenezer, rather tlian Mahomet. It is observable, 
that the grave-stones of the Uncases, executed, 
like the rest, at the charge and under the direc- 
tion of the Indians, are marked vvitli sculptured 
suns; whence it may be suspected that the 
chiefs of the Northern Indians, like those of the 
Southern, claimed, if not an affinity with that lu- 
minary-, at least to be typified by his beams. — A 
modem Uncas, who died in the prime of life, 
and who is still remembered in this neighbour- 
hood, is thus celebrated, on one of tlie stones : 

« SAMUEL UNCAS. 

^ For beauty, wit, for sterling sense, 

*' For temper mild, for eloquence, 

** For courage bold, for things nvaureegan, 

** He was the glory of Moheagan : 

" Whose death has caused gi-eat lamentation, 

<' Both in the English and the Indian nation."* 

* These lines were written by Dr. Tracy, of Norwich. Thingt 
waureegan imply, as I am informcil, clotties, housihold ftirnilure, 
&c. of a cosily description. Samuel Uncas was therefore a man ol" 
substance ; or, in the phrase of the colonists, hjoocI liver. 



308 TJIAVELS THIiOUGH PART 

While the last of the Uncases remamed, the Mov 
heagans felt some pride of condition ; but, since 
his death, they have become dispirited, and have 
rapidly decayed. Mr. Haughton, of Montville, 
assured me, that his father remembered them, 
when they had a delight in the bow and arrow, 
and possessed two hundred men that^ could use 
it ; but they have now no Indian practice left, 
except that of discussing their affairs in council. 
The few Indians, that remain in Connecticut, are 
severally settled on the Moheagan lands, in Sto- 
nington, in Farmington, and at Scaticook ; in ad- 
dition to whom there is a little village of Ne- 
hantics, in or near Danbury.* 

* The estimate, at page 299, supposes a population of 
40,000 souls upon a sui'face of something less than five 
thousand square miles. Dr. Trumbull allows but six- 
teen or twenty thousand ; but his data appear to afford 
a larger result. In the year 1638, within the present 
limits of Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield and Mid- . 
dietown, there were understood to be from three to 
ionv thonsaxid ^ffhting-inen ; and, in 1670, Windsor alone 
is expressly stated to have had two thousand, it being 
computed that the Indian fighting-men were to the 
English as nineteen to one. But three or four thousand 
fighting men supposes a population of fifteen or twenty 
thousand souls, within only those limits that are above 
described. 

Nor is the allowance of eight souls to a square mile, 
on the banks of the Connecticut, and on the neighbouring 
coasts, at absolute variance with the estimate of Mr> 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 3Qy 

On the banks of the Quinnibaug, the shistic 
stratums, which, in New England, are generally 
inclined, (the dip being to the east,) are seen in a 
vertical position. In this neighbourhood, some 
of the farmers are partial to a remarkable va- 
riety of sheep, which they call the otter-sheep. 
As in the otter, its fore legs are bowed outward ; 
and this to such a degree, that the aniniiil appears 
to walk upon its knees. In other respects, it is 
a well made sheep, of a small size. From the 
embarrassment with which it moves, it may be 
supposed sedentary, and disposed to fatten ; but 
one of its recommendations has been, its inabi- 
lity to leap the fences. The fences, however, 
are walls of uncemented stones ; and the sheep, 
unable to leap them, is obliged to climb, and is 
hence continually pulling them down. From the few 
persons that are acquainted with this sheep or its 

Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, (agreed to, by Dr. 
Williams, in his History of Vermont,) who allows but 
one soul to each square mile, for the total Indian po- 
pulation of North America ; for, admitting this to be 
just, still a particular tract of country, extraordinarily 
favourable to subsistence, and such, even to the In- 
dians, was that which comprises the banks of 
the Connecticut. Many others had dispropor- 
tionate shares of the whole number ; and sonic 
were comparatively solitudes. M. Volney, upon this 
subject, presents us only with the most unwarrantabh 
deductions. 



310 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART 



history, I have uniformly understood it to be a 
tradition, that it originated on the banks of a bo- 
dy of water, in Brimfield, in Massachusetts. 
The water once abounded in otters ; and the ewes, 
feeding on its banks, produced, it is said, otter^ 
legged lambs : but, this fact admitted, physiolo* 
gists will iind it difficult to believe, th^t an acciden- 
tal deformity, in this, as in any other instance, 
can be capable of perpetuation. Yet farmers buy 
otter-sheep, and breed otter-sheep from them ; 
and, what is extraordinary, when a lusiis naturae 
presents itself in the breed, it consists in a straight- 
legged sheep. The lambs of an otter-ewe will or- 
dinarily be otter-sheep, but they are sometimes 
straight-legged. Of twin-lambs, one will often 
be straight-legged. In the three or four other 
flocks that I have seen, there have been uniform- 
ly a certain number of straight-legged sheep. 

From Norwich to Lebanon, the town above 
it, on the north-west, there is a fertile and well- 
settled country. The road leads along lofty pas- 
ture-lands that command, on the nor h-east, the val- 
ley of the Willamantic, and through that particu- 
lar society in Lebanon which is called Lebanon. 
The town includes three others, lying to the 
westward, and called Goshen, Exeter and Co- 
lumbia. In the society of Lebanon, the village 
, comprises some well built houses of wood, with 

a large and handsome church of red brick, with 

4 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 3^. 

a spire, and which is not yet wholly finished. Its 
cost is estimated at six thousand dollars. Lands, 
in Lebanon, are generally worth from sixty to 
seventy dollars per acre. 

The lands in Connecticut obtain, in almost 
all situations, a good price ; and it appears not to 
be too high an estimate to take their average va- 
lue at from forty to fifty dollars per acre. In 
Berlin, lands on the road side can be sold at a 
hundred dollars per acre ; and in the same 
neighbourhood, entire farms, including por- 
tions of rocky wood-lands, are worth forty 
dollars per acre. It is said to be demonstrated, 
that some of the best mowing-lands in Connec- 
ticut are t\\ ice as profitable as the best wheat- 
lands in New York. Connecticut raises large 
quantities of flax, maize, rye and pompions. 
Hemp, oats, barley and wheat, and especiidly 
tlie last, are objects of inferior magnitude. 
Wheat is raised wherever it is supposed possi- 
ble to do so, in safety from the insect common- 
ly called the Hessian fly. The chief agricultural 
wealth consists in the pastures and mowing- 
lands. In 1800, for the encouragement of the 
raising of sheep, an act passed the assembly, 
granting a deduction, from the amount of rata- 
ble propert}', of seventy-five cents for shoni 
sheep, ten months old, and sheared in the season 
preceding the making out of the list. A little 
^culation will show us, that the annual premi 



<j^2 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

um held out to the farmer, in consequence of 
this effort of profound and liberal policy, actu- 
ally amounts to ten cents and a half per score of 
sheep.* 

In Lebanon is the modest mansion of His 
Excellency Governor Trumbull, in whom an 
unassuming, gentlemanly and prepossessing de- 
portment is united Vv'ith a sound understanding 
and decided plan of action. It is highly credita- 
ble to him, that placed at the head of a govern- 
ment, wearing that dangerous exterior, the pre- 
tence to extraordinary piety and religion, and 
surrounded by governments less distinguished 

* This specimen of law-making can only be equal- 
led by another, to be found in the same collection. In 
the year 1799, an act passed the assembly, to incorpo- 
rate what is intimated, in the preamble, to be a literary 
society^ but which is nevertheless styled the Connecti- 
cut Academy of Arts and Sciences ; and by the fourth 
and last section of the act, " it is further enacted^ That 
" this act, or any part thereof, if found inadequate or 
" inconvenient, may be altered, amended or repealed." 
— But, why did the assembly assert its undoubted 
prerogative, in respect of all its acts, on the sole occa- 
sion of this particular act ? Was the section inserted 
by the members of the incorporation, or by some nota- 
ble constitutionalist and patriot? Whether it were in- 
serted by the one or the other, it was inserted to please 
or to pacify a powerful portion of the community ; a 
portion which hates the letters and science, as connect- 
ing these with the established religion, and the esta- 
blished religion with federal politics. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 35^3 

in this respect, his speeches and pubUc papers 
are more free than, any others that I am acquaint- 
ed with, from pulpit- topics. They are at the 
same time equally to be praised for their freedom 
from philosophical disquisition, and confinement 
to matters of business ; and for the just concep- 
tion which they hence discover in their author, 
that when his fellow-citizens placed him in the 
chair of government, they did not place him in 
the chair of a professor. Another subject of im- 
moital honour to his memoiy, and which, at the 
same time evinces, that a governor of Connec- 
ticut, limited as we have seen his powers to be, 
is not absolutely incapable of doing a public ser- 
vice, is the part that he performed on an occasion 
that presented itself some time after I left the re- 
public : — it was Governor Trumbull alone, that 
when the government of the United States, in 
the very face of the letter of the constitution, as- 
sumed to itself the command of the militias of 
the particular states; — it was Governor Trumbull 
alone that had the penetration to detect the 
amazing mistake, or the virtue, detecting it, to 
expose it, and to take the stand it called for.* 

* When I visited Connecticut, Governor Trumbull 
was alive. He died on the 7th day of August, 1809. 
The tranaction, of which I have in a manner antici- 
pated the date, took place early in the spring of 1809. 
VOL. I. R r 



CHAPTER LX, 

Connecticut — Windham — Willington. 

ON the northern boundary of Connecticut, 
is Stafford, a town abounding in iron-ore, and 
in which, on the banks of the Willamantic, there 
is a chalybeate spring. Between Lebanon and 
Stafford, I passed through Windham and Wil- 
lington. 

Windham is the county town of the county of 
Windham ; and its principal village, were it not 
built of wood, might be said to bear the general 
appearance of a small English market-town. It 
contains a court-house, gaol, grammar-school 
and congregational church. 

Having expressed to the Honourable Judge 
Swift, one of the judges of the supreme court, 
and an inhabitant of Windham, a wish to visit 
the gaol, that gentleman was so obliging as to 
accompany me there. On ascending into one of 
the apartments occupied by the prisoners, we 
found in it three white men and one black. Two 
of the white men were charged widi felonies. 
Tlie black man stood in a corner of the room, 



TRAVELS THROUGH PART, &c. 3^5 

at a humble distance ; but two of the white 
men were sitting on the side of a bed, w here 
continuing to sit, they saluted the judge wiih a 
friendly nod, and how do ye ? and held out their 
hands, which common courtesy therefore required 
him to shake. The walls of the gaol are of tri- 
ple or quadruple plank, and are thought to be 
strong. Judge Swift possesses a very hundsome 
residence, a little out of the village. The house 
stands in the middle of a lawn, and in that and 
other respects bears more resemblance to an 
English gentleman's country residence than any 
other that I saw in Connecticut. It commands 
one of those prospects that are not onh^ exten- 
sive but rich, though without water. At the inn 
in Windham, I met the Reverend Mr. Samuel 
Austin, of Newhaven, who had arrived in a cot- 
ton morning. gown, to preach before a lodge of 
freemasons on the following day, the twenty- 
fourth of June. 

Stopping for a short time in Willington, 
the town that lies between Windham and 
Stafford, and asking for something at an inn, the 
mistresscalled upon Minerva to fetch it ; and I af- 
terward found that names, of this and other pro- 
fane origins, are common among the female part 
of the communit) in New England ; while those 
borne by the male are almost unitorml) scrip- 
tural : a few of the old puritanic inventions re- 
main ; as Return, Increase, &.c. but Elizur. 



3X6 TRAVELS THllOLTGH PAllT 

Abner, Jared and Enoch, are among the most com- 
mon ; always saving Jonathan^ which is known 
to be synonymous with Nexv England. 

In Willi ngt on, the following manuscript ad- 
vertisement met my eye : 

" Willington, June 1st, 1807. 

" The subscribers wish to informe the publick, that 
" we are erected on the blue Dyes at Peck's Miles ; and 
" we would thank the peoblick for their custome." 

" Emery White. 

" William Ramsay.^' 

It would be idle to notice, as in this instance, 
the defects of rustic orthography, except with 
the view of correcting any false impression that 
may be made on the reader's mind, by my ac- 
count of the schools in Connecticut. I 
have already said, that the benefit is limited. 
The truth is, that the schooling, as from the na- 
ture of the thing it must be, though very ge- 
neral, is very humble. In the bill of an inn- 
keeper and physician, one of the items charged 
me was, Medson for your hors. 

Stafford Springs are distant about twenty 
miles from the village of Windham. In the 
course of the few days that I spent at them, I 
made a retrogade journey into Willington, to an 
anabaptist meeting-house. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. gjy 

The building had never been the most sump- 
tuous, and it was now much out of repair. The 
exterior presented unpainted boards and broken 
window s. On entering, a seat was immediately 
offered me, and I accepted it. At my back was 
the gallery that fronted the pulpit, and which, 
therefore, by fixed usage, contained the singers, 
andthese,of course, were the fairest of the nymphs 
and the comeliest of the swains. One circum- 
stance long distressed me. All the swains, as 
is common with all the swains in Connecticut, 
chewed tobacco. In consequence, they had an 
ovei-flowing secretion of saliva to discharge. It 
was discharged, as is usual in like circumstan- 
ces, on the floor of the middle aisle ; but, as 
there was only the wainscot of the pew between 
myself and the aisle, ejection after ejection, in- 
cessant from twenty mouths, kept me in constant 
alarm. Indeed, I soon perceived that the skill 
of my friends above was exquisite, and that the 
black juice, which presently covered the floor of 
the aisle, was always directed with so true lui aim, 
as to arrive precisely at its place — I ouglit to say 
its precise point — of destination. But, alas ! the 
demonstrations of experience and reason do not 
always remove, as they ought, the misgivings of 
our hearts. 

Meanwhile, my eyes and ears had still otlier 
employment. Those who filled the pews below 



318 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

were generally elderly. The day was warm, 
but damp, and even rainy. Under the pulpit, 
on the left, sat a gentleman with a patch on one 
eye. Behind him, two panes of glass were out. 
To keep the wind from his neck, his hat was 
thrust through one of the apertures ; and his 
coat, which the general temperature of his body 
enabled him to dispense with, was taken off, and 
applied to the other. Thus, he sat in his shirt 
sleeves ; but, to prevent a cold in his head, that 
part was covered with a coloured handkerchief. 
In a corner, sat a neighbour, with his coat hung 
over his arm ; and those that were near the win- 
dows had in most instances guai'ded their heads 
with handkerchiefs. 

After hymns and a long prayer, in which, as 
is usual in extemporaneous prayer, there was a 
sermon to the deity, informing him of all his 
attributes, and of some of the latest news on 
earth, the preacher announced his text, which 
was no other than that very celebrated one in 
the book of Genesis, The sceptre shall not de- 
part from Judah, nor a laxv giver from between 
his feet ^ until Shiloh come.^ 

I regretted for a moment, the choice. I sup- 
posed, that in a sermon drawn from this text, 
the preacher would take the ordinary route, and 

* Genesis, chap. xlix. v. 10.- 



OF THE UNITF.D STATES. ^^g 

employ biblical learning in making it appear, 
that the Shiloh of the prophecy is the Messiah 
of the New Testament, and that in the Messiah 
the prophecy was fulfilled ; and, on points of 
biblical learning, I suspected that the divine to 
whom I was to listen would but repeat what 
other divines had said before, and had said much 
better than he was likely to say them. 

I was mistaken. The preacher took a path 
of his own, and one that I believe had some ori- 
ginality ; making no other use of his text than 
to infer from it the fore-knowledge of the deity. 
The prophecy, as the reader will remember, is 
one of a series delivered by Jacob to his sons; and, 
this point being explained, the preacher proceed- 
ed : " You see, the way that the old man come to 
" know this was, that God tell'd him — God 
" knows QVQvy thing, and so he tell'd him all 
" what all his sons would come to. You see, 
" the old man knew that he was come to die — 
" he felt, somehow, that he was come to die — 
" (perhaps God tell'd him — I don't know in 
" particular — it does not seem to be set down ; — 
" but, somehow, the old man, he knew that his 
" time was come for him to die) — so, you sec, he 
" sent for all his sons — for all his sons — all of 
«' 'em — some were out in the fields — some in 
" barn — no matter — they all had to come— 



320 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" and then he tell'd 'em every* thing — tell'd 
" 'em every thing — all what they'd do ! You 
" see God knows every thing — so he tell'd the 
" old man every thing — so then the old man 
" tell'd them every thing — all what they'd do — 
" in all theii' lives — and all what their children 
" would do ; — for God knows every thing — and 
'' he tell'd the old man every thing — every one 
" thing ! — Simeon and Levi are brethren — but 
" they had instruments of cruelty in their habi- 
" tations — the old man did not like 'em — O my 
" soul^ says he, come not thou into their secret f 
" that is, don't have any to do with 'em — for 
" they were cruel men, you see — in their anger 
" thei/ slew a man^ and in their self-will they 
*' digged down a wall. 

" Well, then, the old man, he comes next to 
'" Judah — and Judah seems to be a great favour- 
" ite ! — Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine ene- 
" mies ; thy fathers children shall bow down be - 
'■'■fore thee. Well, and so it happened, all what 
" the old man tell'd 'em — all happened just as 
" he tell'd 'em — he did not tell 'em no lies — 
" for God tell'd him every thing — and God did 
" not tell the old man any lies — not any lies at 
" all — it all happened, as you'll see — in — in — 
" in — well it's no matter — I can't find the 
" places just now — (I could look 'em up.) 
1 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 32! 

" The sceptre shall not depart from Jiulah— 
" tliat is, you see, the old man teli'd Judah how 
" he should be a king, and how all his children 
" should be king^j. — You see a sceptre's a — 
" a thing that a king always carries with him 
" (I never saw a king) — a sceptre is a kind of a 
" stafl', you see — it's made with several things 
" (I could look 'em up) — kivered all over with 
" silver and gold (I never saw a sceptre.) — You 
" see, your great people, they carry different 
*' sorts of things, to show what they are — so, 
" you see, a king he carries a sceptre— like, as I 
" am told, a president of a college, (I never saw a 
'* president of a college,) he carries a great staff— 
" so, you see, they all carrj^, some one thing, 
" some another — I don't know what they are — 
" I could look 'em up. 

" Judah'' s a lion's ivhelp — he stooped down, he 
" couched as a lion^ arid as an old lioji.— You 
*' see, that means how Judah should be very 
" great — you see, a lion's called the king of 
" beasts — ^a lion — (I never saw a lion) — it's a 
" great beast — I don't know in particular — I 
" could look it up — great teeth ! 

" Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea. 
" You see, Zebulun, he would be fond of nam- 
" gation.* The old man teli'd him he would-- 

* The word navigation is used in New England for 
shipping, and for seafaring. 
VOL. I. S S 



322 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

" and he knew — -God tell'd him every thing. You 
" see, different children take a different turn — 
" one likes one thing, and another iikes another. 
" So, you see, the old man, he tell'd Zebulun 
" how he'd live near the sea— and how he'd have 
" a great many ships — and he tell'd no lies." 

Coming at length to the close of the prophe- 
cies) the preacher dwelt a little upon the death 
and burial of the patriarch. The embalming, 
mentioned in the chapter that succeeds that from 
which he had taken his text, occupied him for 
a few minutes : — " Embalming — that is — you 
" see — ^they put — great maiiy things — gums — • 
" great many things— I don't know what they 
'< are, just now — ^I could look 'em up. — 

" So you sec, God, he knows every thing — 
" he tell'd the old man every thing — there's 
" nothing but what God knows — ^he knowed 
" every thing about you, thousands of years 
" before you were born. He knows every thing — 
*' he knowed all what you'd do^ — ^he knows all 
*' what you are going to do — and all what you'll 
" ever do. He knowed every thing — he know- 
" ed ^vhat lots of land you'd buy, and where 
" you'd build your barns.-— And now, my 
" friends, what a God this is ! He knows 
" every thing. You may think that you can 
*' deceive him — and hide from him — but you 
" can't deceive him— you can't hide any thing 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 323 

" from him — He knows every thing — he can 
" tell you every thing. So then, you see, 
" there is no escaping from God ! We must 
*' worship God — Theonl) way to be happy is to 
" worship God — only way, to worship God, and 
" keep the sabbath — nothing else makes a man 
" happy. I once knew a man — great man he was — 
" great deal of land — but he had nothing to do 
" with God — nothing to do with God — lived 
" without God in the world — never minded the 
" sabbath ; no, not he ! — Well, he had a son 
" died — his only son — son grown up a man — 
" large family— and when his son was dead, 
" every body thought he'd take on — take on, 
" so as nothing was like it. — But his son's death 
" brought him to God — he grew serious* — and 
" when one of his friends asked him whether or no 
*' he was not unhappy about losing his son — 
" he answered, that he never was so happy in all 
" his life ! — no, not in all his life! — and, says he, 
" ' If I had twelve sons, and I was sure that every 
" ' one's dying would make me as happy as 
" ' my son's dying has made me now— I should 
" ' wish 'em every one — every one of the twelve 
" ' —todie!' " 

After all, worse sermons are preached, b}' 
some that have seen a president of a college. 

* Serious has the cant acceptation of religious. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Connecticut — Stafford Spritigs — Pomfret. 

THE Indians first made the settlers acquaint- 
ed with the virtues of the chalybeate springs in 
Stafford, when, in the year 1719, this part of the 
country began to be settled. It had been their 
practice, time immemorial, to resort to them in 
the warm season of the }'ear, and plant their wig- 
wams round them. They recommended the wa- 
ter as an eye-water ; but gave, as their own par- 
ticular reason for drinking it, that it enlivened 
the spirits. In 1766, they were carefully ex- 
amined by Dr. Warren, of Rhode Island, who 
then entertained a thought of purchasing the 
land on which they rise, with a view to establish- 
ing himself upon it. Subsequent events trans-, 
formed the same physician into a soldier, and 
the doctor fell, with the rank of major-general, 
on Bunker's Hill. Dr. Willard, the present 
proprietor, has put Dr. Warren's plan into prac- 
tice, by building a large house, for the reception 
of patients and others. 

The mineral substances, held in solution in 
this water, are said to have been foiuid by 
analysis to be carbonated iron and sulphat of 



TnAVELS THTIOUGH PART, ho. 325 

magnesia. The iron is in considerable propor- 
tion ; but the carbonic acid is less remarkable in 
this than in several other springs. Some per- 
sons have said, and perhaps with good founda- 
tion, that the water resembles that of Tun- 
bridge in England, but that it is stronger. Ex- 
posed to the action of the caustic fixed alkali, it 
throws down an ochrous precipitate. Prus- 
siats of lime and potass communicate a dis- 
cernible blue tinge ; and muriat of bar) tes a 
very copious sediment. The water is said to 
have effected more than one extraordinary cure 
in dropsy, and is recommended in all the com- 
plaints for which chalybeates are usually resort- 
ed to. In the neighbourhood, the greater num- 
ber of patients that it attracts appear to be such 
as labour under scrofulous diseases. That, of 
which I heard the name in every one's mouth, is 
the salt rheum. 

The springs, and the hotel of which they are 
appurtenances, are both on the edge of a stage- 
road, called the upper road, between New York, 
Hartford and Boston ; and to this circumstance 
they appear to be indebted for many of their 
wealthier visitors. Among those that resort 
to them solely for medical relief, the spirit, 
or perhaps the necessity of frugality, appears to 
lead to a serious error. They make but a very 
short stay, and hope, by excessive drinking i^t 



326 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

tlie fountain, to render that stay equivalent to a 
very long one. They take their departure before 
they have drank the water long enough to justify 
them in drinking it freely ; and hence there may 
be reason to fear, that they go away, not only 
not benefited, but really injured. There are 
bath-houses on the premises, in which are both 
warm and cold baths- 
There were usually from twenty to thirty 
laistic inmates ; and when the scene was not 
diversified by the arrival of cits, from Boston or 
elsewhere, the dinner-scene presented only the 
true rustic manners. Ail the women sat toge- 
tlier, beginning at the lower end of the table ; and 
all the men together, toward the upper ; and the 
only communication between them resulted from 
the necessity under which the men appeared to la- 
bour to be helped by the women. Above all things, 
a man never seemed to think that he could make 
an incision in a pie-crust. I have seen one sit for 
half an hour with an empty plate, while there was 
a meat-pie before him, to which he neither help- 
ed himself, nor offered to help any one else. Be- 
ing also the last in the line of males, he had a 
line of the younger females below him, all with 
empty plates, patiently waiting till the gentle- 
men were served ; but this had no effect upon 
him ; to make a breach in the pie-crust was im- 
possible. Each individual, as soon as he had 
dined, carried his chair to the wall, and left the 



OP THE UNITED STATES. -jo" 

room. The women, every one when she had 
dined, drew away their chairs to the windows. 
The servants of the house, in conformity with 
these manners, which are the manners of the 
country, carried away the table when they car- 
ried away the cloth, and drove away loiterers 
with an army of brooms. 

The separation of the sexes prevails, in New 
England, dirough all the intercourse of society, 
even where the condition of life is many re- 
moves from the rustic. On that awful occasion, 
a tea-party^ all the ladies occupy one side of 
the room, and all the gentlemen the other ; and 
one consequence is, that the gentlemen talk 
politics, and the ladies listen in silence ; for the 
ladies are rarely politicians : "In monarchies,'' 
says a French writer, " the women are every 
" thing; in republics, nothing." 

As to a man's helping himself at table, the 
contrary is practised to a degree that offers to 
the mind of a stranger the most ludicrous pic- 
ture of indolence ; it is however, onl}'^, a picture 
of habit. The sturdiest and gi'immest; wayfarer, 
at the poorest inn, is in this particular waited 
upon like a bashaw, but always by a female 
hand ; for, if there happens to be no female at 
his service, then, as the expression is, he may 
wait upon himself. If he asks for breakfast or 
supper^ it is not sufl&cient to place all the long 



328 TRAVELS THROUGH PART 

list of requisite articles upon thetable, but a female 
must attend him through his meal, to pour out 
his tea or coffee, and put milk and sugar into it. 
She must also cut him a piece of apple-pie, to 
eat after his tea — put it upon his plate — and, in 
short, do everything — but eat it. A good wo- 
man, giving me an account of her having gone 
out one evening with her neighbours, observed, 
that " For her part, she had not had the smallest 
" idea of going, till the very moment before her 
" departure ; but, her neighbours had come, 
" and she had before got the men their vie- 
^' tuals, and the men said how she need not slay, 
" for they thought they could wait upon them- 
" selves." 

The evenings, at the Springs, were generally 
spent, by the young women, in singing hymns, 
of which a favourite one was called the Garden 
Hymn, beginning with — 

" The Lord is to his garden come," See. 

They sing hymns because they are more fami- 
liar with the words and tunes of these, than with 
those of songs ; and because they are accus- 
tomed to sing them in parts. A clergyman 
happening to come among us, prayers, hymns 
and chapters in the bible were required before 
breakfast. 



OF IHE UNITED STATES. 329 

But, this society, as I have intimated, Mas 
sometimes thrown into contrast by the arrival 
of persons of another mould. One day, there 
came a lady, who, with her husband, was tra- 
velling to Hartford, her place of residence. 
She had an ease and polish of manners, such 
as might claim distinction, even in scenes where 
ease and polish are less uncommon. She staid 
but twenty-four hours. When she was gone, 
I was told, but perhaps erroneously, that she 
had been called the Beauty of Connecticut. 
Sickness had now taken in part the roses from 
her cheek. 

It was here, by some Boston guests, that an 
account of His Majesty's frigate Leopard's at- 
tack on the United States' frigate Chesapeake 
first reached the part of the countiy in which I 
was. Nothing very distinct was to be learned 
upon the subject ; but the Boston reporters of 
the story only made it an occasion to testify 
their confidence in the justice and even magna- 
nimity of the British government ; a sentiment 
that I had afterward the amplest occasion to hear 
more widely, though perhaps not more warmly 
expressed. 

From Stafford Springs, I proposed passing to 
Providence and to Newport, and afterward to 
Boston. I took the road leading through Pom- 
fret, and into the town of Gloucester, in llic 

VOL. I. T t 



330 TKAVELS THROUGH PARI, &c. 

territory of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- 
tations, where I remained till the next morn- 
ing. In Pomfret, there is a cotton- manufactory 
of some extent ; and this branch of business is 
said to thrive in all the neighbouring territory, 
which was now before me ; and where there are 
said to be at least twenty manufactories. There 
is one in the western vicinity of Providence, 
and three at Patucket, in the east. In- Smith- 
field, there are several, particularly one of three 
thousand spindles, and in which there is vested 
a capital of a hundred and Hfty thousand dollars. 
In ail, the machinery is entirely moved by wa- 
ter. Coiton twist is already exported, particu- 
larly to Antwerp. The staple coming to the 
manufacturer free of any thing more than the 
coasting freight, he receives a virtual bounty of 
forty per centum ; and in the case of a war with 
Great Britain, cotton would be made, as to a 
degree it already is, a succedaneum for wool. 
But it is coarse goods only that will be manu- 
factured. 



END OF THfc, FIRST VOLUME. 



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